Rise of the Red Dragon
by McCornbread
Summary: AU where Issei was born 10 years early into a noble devil family and had his powers awakened at an early age. rated M for language, violence and Lemons. Issei x Rias G., Issei x T. Koneko Issei x Harem, IsseixOC
1. Prologue

AN: Just so you know, this is my first attempt writing anything outside of mandatory school work; so my apologies if it's horrible. I decided that I would do an AU where Issei was born earlier than cannon time (ten years, to be precise). I'm just praying it works out.

(and begin)

Prologue:

I suppose you could say I've had anything but a standard childhood, in fact, there's no supposing about it. Let's start back when I was five, when everything went to crap.

I was a kid just like any other back then, I asked too many questions, was a little bit clumsy, and had two parents who doted on me like I was a prince. I'd never actually considered that there was anything abnormal about me or my family.

Two weeks after my sixth birthday, I'd just been put to bed by my mother, and I heard some strange noises coming from down stairs. Being the curious little runt that I was, I snuck down to see what was going on, and was scarred for life. Two burnt husks (who I now assume are my parents) were nailed to the wall, eyes ripped out of their sockets, heads lolling on their shoulders, and blood pooling on the floor. Doing the most predictable thing, I screamed and ran from the room. Obviously, my uncoordinated six-year-old legs couldn't get me very far at high speeds, and I ended up crashing to the floor. Two figures approached, the one in the lead had a sadistic grin plastered across his face, light glinting across his somehow pointed teeth and shiny black wings.

"Well, looks like there's a kid as well. What a fabulous surprise. Donhaseek, you go on ahead, this won't take a minute." He said, laughing maniacally while pulling a glowing spear seemingly out of nowhere.

With the pounding of footsteps and the ruffle of feathers, Donhaseek fled the scene; thus leaving me alone with the man who murdered my parents.

The man slowly advanced, savoring the fact that I was helpless to stop him from attacking me. With a chuckle, he stabbed his spear into my left shoulder, saying something about it being punishment for associating with devils. At the time, I had no idea what he was talking about.

The pain was like none I'd ever experienced before, both hot and cold, spreading throughout my body in an instant. Instead of reaching a peak, the suffering I endured continued to grow with each passing second. It certainly didn't help things when the man created another spear and repeated the process on my other shoulder.

All of a sudden, I couldn't hear anything; I was sucked into a black void and isolated from all my senses.

 **"You're lucky I pulled you out, boy. You won't be able to handle much more of this before you perish"** A deep, booming voice stated, echoing around the space.

"Who are you?" I called into the abyss, not expecting a response.

 **"The name's Ddraig, partner. But that's not important right now. You and I need to escape this situation as soon as possible, as I said, you won't be able to handle much more."**

"How would I do that, he's too strong, I can't do it!" I cried out.

 **"If it's power you need; then I can help you with that, for a price."** Responded Ddraig.

"Anything, just get me out of here."

 **"Are you sure? Once you go down this road, there isn't any going back."**

"Do it."

After leaving the void, I feel the pain immediately resume in my arms; then I feel a searing burn in my head, hear something that sounded like Ddraig say **"Welsh Dragon, Over Booster"** and the rest is too blurry to remember any specific details.

Apparently at some point I passed out, because the next thing I remember is waking up in a strange room with an odd looking man beside me. His most striking feature was the mane of crimson hair coupled with striking blue eyes.

"Glad to see you're awake. I'm sure you have a lot of questions, but first please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Sirzechs Lucifer, and I am one of the leaders of the demons."

I just stared at him, expecting an explanation.

Suddenly, there was a bright red flash, and my arm felt much heavier than it should. Looking down, I noticed a strange looking red gauntlet encasing my skinny arm (looking back, it's rather comical). While I stared, dumbfounded, a green gem on the palm began to glow, and Ddraig's voice emanated from me.

 **"Perhaps it would be wisest to save the explanation for another day, Lord Lucifer. The boy is tired and is in dire need of rest and nourishment."** Ddraig said, with a hint of humor entering his voice.

"Very well, I'll have my servants bring in some food shortly. For now, just get some rest, you need it." Lucifer said, as he stood and left the room.

After what felt like two days, the man with red hair returned, and I could tell he wanted to speak with me.

"Now then, Issei, I'm sure you have some questions for me." Sirzechs said.

"Not really, my lord, Ddraig has explained most of what happened to me, but I still don't know how I fit into all of this." I replied.

"First, please, call me Sirzechs. Second, I believe I can help with that. Moving along, I'm afraid the details will be rather grim. Your mother was an old friend of mine, and one of the nobles of the underworld. Having a position of power like she did created many enemies among the Angels, fallen angels, and even other devils. What you simply need to know is that a team of rogue fallen angels attacked you in an attempt exterminate the Hyoudou family from the underworld. However there was one thing that the fallen did not account for, that being you. The fallen's information was incorrect, leading them to believe your parents did not have a child. As you may have heard from Ddraig, you are no ordinary child; you are what is known as the Sekiryuutei, you can ask Ddraig any questions you might have about this subject. Moving on, a council has decided that since you are still a child, you will spend the rest of your youth under the care of Azazel, the govener general of the fallen angels."

"Wait a minute, aren't the fallen angels the people who killed my parents? Why would you ever make me stay with their leader?" I almost yell, infuriated that anyone would even consider the thought.

"Issei, I understand why you disagree, but the fallen who attacked your family were a rogue group, and were not ordered to do so by Azazel. Besides, Azazel is the only one who understands even part of your sacred gear, and can help you train accordingly. After all, you're technically devil nobility, which means that you'll have an appearance to uphold." Sirzechs says, attempting to try and reason with me.

"I guess I kind of have to, don't I. When do I leave?" I sighed as the question left my mouth.

"Tonight."

(End prologue)

AN: Well, that was a thing. As I said, this is my first attempt at writing something that I didn't have to, and feedback (positive or negative) is always appreciated. To be honest, I don't really have to strict of an idea as to how this is going to progress onwards, so if you have any thoughts on what you might like to see, I'd be happy to consider them. The only things I've fully planned out is that there are going to be a few OCs, and (if you couldn't tell) Issei is going to end up with his own peerage (hence the need for OCs). I'm not sure when I'll be able to upload the next chapter, but it should be within two weeks. Thanks for reading.


	2. Chapter 1

AN: I want to say thanks for all the feedback, I really appreciate it. I was reading through some of the reviews, and I saw a couple of really good ideas, so a special thanks to the DragonBard; because I really think that what you said was a pretty good idea, and I'll definitely be taking it into consideration.

(And with that we're off!)

Chapter 1

I lived with Azazel for about twelve years, and in that time learned to control both my devil powers and the power of the dragon that lived within me. Training wasn't always easy, especially when I wanted to rip the throat out of every fallen angel I saw (and there were a lot). I must say, however, that however much of a gigantic prick Azazel is, he does know about my sacred gear. Apparently, when I was a kid, Ddraig took a part of my body as payment for granting me the strength that I needed to fight back against the fallen angels. What was shocking was what Ddraig took, namely being the left portion of my brain. I'm still the one in control, but now I have analytical and logical skills better than any human, devil, or variation of angel. This mental ability, coupled with the natural aptitude I had as a devil, made me a nearly unstoppable force in the training room.

After leaving the underworld, I decided it was high time to track down the bastards that killed my family. I started by going to Sirzechs, mainly to see what my status as a noble could do in order to gain a step up on the rogues. I was issued my own set of evil pieces; however I decided to hold off building a peerage until I'd gotten closer to my goal.

(Major time jump, by the way. The time is now concurrent with the series)

Last night, I got word from Azazel that the fallen who killed my parents were back in Kuoh, and about to pull off something big. Luckily, I was in Tokyo at the time, and didn't have to travel very far; however it was kind of strange staying in my old home. Sticking with a plan I'd developed, I used magic to regress my physical appearance to that of a seventeen year old; and enrolled at Kuoh Academy, a nearby school.

Thinking over the information I received from Azazel, I walk towards the front gate of my new school. Walking underneath the iron archway, I stroll down the path and see two people running from a squad of girls. I stop walking just to stare at the spectacle; and the running pair immediately veers off of their current course and run towards me.

"PLEASE! HELP US!" Screams one of the boys, his glasses barely staying on his nose.

The two run up and cower behind me, the girls fast on their heels.

"So, if you don't mind my asking, what did they do?" I ask the girl leading the pack.

"Those two perverts were peeking in on the girl's locker room when the kendo team was changing! It's about time that they take responsibility for their stupidity and face their punishment like men." She says, seething with rage; apparently not noticing the perverts in question sneaking away.

I quickly turn around and grab glasses by the hair, holding him in front of my while I say in his hear.

"Dude, if you're going to peek in on the girls, at least be discreet about it."

I toss him on the ground in front of the girls and say "He's all yours."

I've seen some vicious fights; and I'm no stranger to extreme violence; but what the girls are doing to that poor boy is almost too much for even me. I don't think he'll ever be able to walk straight again.

I walk away, trying to tune out the cries of terror and pain coming from the boy.

"Matsuda! Don't just leave me!" I hear him shout, just as a shinai makes a sickening crack against his skull.

Walking towards the faculty offices of the school, I get the feeling that I'm being watched.

"Ddraig, can you sense anybody who might be watching us?" I ask.

 **"As far as I can tell, it's a woman; she's in the building to your right."** He replies.

Turning my head slightly, I see an older building; and a woman with blood red hair standing at one of the upstairs windows. I immediately tense up, detecting the distinct aura of a devil.

"Ddraig, are you picking up on this aura?" I say, hoping to affirm my suspicions.

 **"She's most certainly a devil, and Sirzech's younger sister at that. I'm detecting one more person in there with her; another devil, by the looks of it."**

"I'll deal with them later. Any luck locating the fallen angels?"

 **"I can't home in on an exact location, but they're definitely in this town. Be on the lookout."**

Continuing to the faculty offices, I retrieve my schedule and proceed onward to class. My homeroom teacher, a middle aged man with kind eyes and a perpetual grin, introduces me to the class; and I'm met with a flurry of questions.

"Where did you live before you moved here?"

"Where are you staying now?"

And my personal favorite:

"How could you leave Motohama to the kendo team like that? Man, that was uncool!"

The rest of the day is rather uneventful, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't fall asleep at least once. I start to walk home, and as I'm crossing a bridge over a road I hear somebody call out to me.

"E-Excuse me, are you Issei Hyoudou from Kuoh Academy?" A girl asks.

I turn around and see a girl about seventeen, wearing the uniform of another school; a red blazer over a white shirt coupled with a black skirt.

"Yes. How can I help you?" I ask in return.

"Well… Are you seeing anyone at the moment?"

Deciding to play along I reply "Not really."

"I'm so glad to hear that! Um, w-would you like to go out with me?" She asks, a hint of earnestness creeping into her voice.

"Uh, what did you just say?" I ask, feigning confusion.

"Well, I saw you pass by here this morning, and at that moment I knew you were my…" she pauses to take a shaky breath and compose herself. "P-Please… Please go out with me!" she says, her cheeks bright red from blushing.

"If you'll have me, I'd be happy to."

She squeals in delight, gives me a peck on the lips, and begins to skip away.

"By the way," I call after her, "If you're going to try to play human, at least _attempt_ to conceal your aura. Seriously, Raynare, have you learned nothing growing up with me?"

(end)

AN: I know I said it might take a while, but I just got a great idea and decided to get back and write the official chapter one. I want to again say thanks for all the feedback I got on the prologue, and I decided to take the DragonBard's advice and try to limit the number of OCs. I can't promise that there won't be any, but there aren't going to be more than three or four. Again, any feedback (positive or otherwise) is welcomed, and if you have any Ideas, I'd be more than happy to hear them. Also, I know it seems that Issei is a little laid back about the fallen angel thing, and I'm fully aware that I never said what it is that Issei gave up as a kid, but I can promise you that it will come in the next few chapters.


	3. Chapter 2

AN: Judging from the lack of feedback, I'm going to assume that you all are okay with me using the honorifics; and thus from this point onwards I will be using honorifics and also some Japanese terminology (nothing too complicated). Before I start, I just want to say thanks again for all the positive feedback I'm getting; this is my first time actually writing anything for fun, so it makes me really happy to see that you guys enjoy it.

(And start)

"If you're going to try to play human, at least _attempt_ to conceal your aura. Seriously, Raynare, have you learned nothing growing up with me?"

She stops moving and tenses up, balling her hands into fists. Turning around and scowling, she says: "Geez, Ise-kun, you just don't let me have any fun at all, do you?"

"So what we did before I left doesn't count as fun?" I quip back.

"Touché. You know, I was serious about that date on Sunday. The offer still stands." She says, looking more than a little hopeful.

"My, my, Ray-chan, growing attached, are we? I suppose I'll have to accept, I can't have you dying of loneliness on me." I taunt, a sly grin crawling its way onto my face.

"Screw you!" she says, smiling to show it's all in jest.

"I'm pretty sure you already did." I respond.

"Yeah, yeah. I've got to go." She says as she begins to walk away. She turns around and looks me dead in the eye. "Oh, and Ise-kun, it's good to see you again." She turns around and warps off to wherever she's staying.

Shaking my head, I turn around and start back on the route to my house. Feeling a bit hungry, I stop by a convenience store and buy some drinks and a protein bar. Walking in front of a playground, I stop and sit on the swing-set.

"Are you going to come out yet? I bought you a drink; it'd be a shame to see it go to waste." I call out, looking at the wooded area in front of me. Nothing happens. "You know, for someone who's supposed to be tailing me, you sure make a lot of noise. Are you one of Sitri's or Gremory's?" I continue.

At this, I hear a small gasp, and light footsteps crunch on fallen leaves as my pursuer leaves cover.

A younger girl who I've seen in school emerges from the woods, looking confused, curious, and slightly irritated.

"How did you know I was there?" She asks.

"I just told you, and you still haven't answered my question." I reply, patting the seat of the swing next to mine.

She advances hesitantly, as if thinking I would spring up and attack her at any moment.

"You can calm down, I'm not here for a fight. Do you want something to drink, you've been following me all afternoon, you must be thirsty." I say, holding out a bottle of water. She moves forward and sits on the swing, but she's incredibly tense, ready to spring into action at any moment.

"I'm Issei Hyoudou, and you are?" I ask, attempting to strike up a conversation.

"Koneko Toujou." She replies, her short responses demonstrating her distrust.

"Oh, so you're one of Rias', "She draws breath quickly, obviously shocked that I know her identity. "You can tell Rias that I'll stop in to see her soon, but I'm assuming that she asked you to keep an eye on me for the entire weekend." Noticing she'd finished her water, I take the bottle and vaporize it in my hand.

"It's a lot cleaner than throwing it away." I explain.

"But how did you do that? And how did could you hear me?" She asks, obviously growing to trust me a tad more.

"It's a bit of a long story; and it's getting rather late, why don't we discuss this at my house over dinner and a cup of tea?" I ask, expecting her to decline my invitation.

"I was told to gather as much information about you as possible, I'll have to accept your offer." She replies, blushing slightly.

"Well then, follow me, Koneko-chan." I say as I stand up and walk towards my home, Koneko never more than three steps away from me.

The walk is uneventful, but that's to be expected; as the park is only two blocks from my home.

"Please, make yourself at home. The den is on the right, and I'll have dinner ready in a few minutes." I say as we enter my house. I can hear Koneko sit down on the couch as I put a pan on the stove and begin to cook up some fish.

After twenty minutes, I take the fish off the stove and steam some vegetables. I call out to Koneko to tell her I'm almost finished, but receive no reply. Walking into the adjacent room, I find her curled up on the couch, sound asleep. Deciding dinner can wait, I carry her upstairs to a spare bedroom and lay her on the bed. Returning downstairs, I finish up the vegetables, and sit down at the table alone. Right before I dig in, I hear light padding on the steps as Koneko returns down to the dining room.

"Well, looks like you woke up just in time." I say, poking a little bit of fun at the young devil.

"You didn't do anything to me, did you?" She asks, looking slightly annoyed about something.

"What would make you think that?"

"I heard you talking to the fallen angel on the bridge. I heard what you two did together." She says, looking to be even more annoyed.

"Anyway, no. I didn't do anything to you except carry you up to the bedroom. By the way, the food is going to get cold if you don't hurry up." My statement galvanizing her into action, she sits down at the dinner table while I prepare her a plate and fetching refreshments for the both of us. Setting the bottles down on the table, I resume my seat as Koneko looks at me in shock.

"Sake?" she asks, dumbfounded, "But we're underage!"

"Maybe you are, I'm twenty seven." I say, pouring myself a glass of the strong liquid. "I brought you some tea, since I figured you weren't the drinking type."

Sliding the plastic jug of Oolong tea towards her, I begin to eat. Noticing that she isn't touching her food, an unsettling thought pops into my head.

"You know, I didn't ask, but do you like fish?" I ask, nervous that she wouldn't like what I had to offer.

"No, it's fine. I'm just wondering what exactly you are." She states, being blunter than a sledgehammer.

"We'll get to that after dinner, for now, just enjoy the food."

After clearing the plates from the table once we'd finished eating, I invite Koneko to join me in the den for the long awaited discussion.

She remains mostly quiet as I explain my past to her, but she tears up a bit when I bring up my parents.

"That's why your house is empty." She says. No condolences, no apologies, not a single attempt a comforting me; and I appreciate it, I've grown sick of them.

As I explain the story of Ddraig and my sacred gear, she seems to finally understand how I could detect her presence. Wrapping up my story, I look over and realize it's almost midnight.

"Koneko-chan, seeing as it's so late, and we don't have school tomorrow; would you like to stay here for the night?" I ask, honestly not knowing what to expect.

"I'd like that very much, Senpai." She replies, leaning in close to me and laying her head on my shoulders. Within moments, she's asleep.

 **"Are you not going to do anything, partner?"** The voice of Ddraig inquires.

"Lay off it, will you?" I snap back.

 **"But aren't you the one who wanted a harem? Besides, dragons like you have a natural tendency to attract people."** Ddraig replies. I swear, sometimes he can be more annoying than Azazel.

"Do you come with an off switch?"

 **"Point taken."**

The conversation in my head over, I carry Koneko up to the spare bedroom she was in before; and then go to my own room to get ready for bed.

I wake up to an unfamiliar weight on my chest, and look up to see Koneko lying on top of me, breathing softly with her head resting next to mine. I try to get up without waking her, but that proves to be ineffective.

"Good morning, Senpai." Koneko says, her eyes fluttering open as I try to lift her off me.

"Um, good morning, I guess." I reply, thoroughly confused by the situation. "Koneko-chan?"

"Yes, Senpai?"

"Why are you sleeping on top of me?"

"I came in last night to talk some more, but you looked so lonely sleeping by yourself. I just couldn't resist." She explained, all the while nuzzling my neck.

"Well, what did you want to talk about?"

"I thought that I should tell you my story, since you told me yours." She said.

(end)

AN: Seeing as I don't have much to do over summer vacation, I'll probably end up updating this pretty much every day; however I can't make any promises. I want to say thanks for reading all the way up to this point, and also again say thanks for all the great feedback I've been getting. As I said in the prologue, if you have any ideas or things you'd like to see, feel free to let me know and I'd be happy to look into them.


	4. Chapter 3

"I thought that I should tell you my story, since you told me yours."

"Koneko-chan, you don't need to do that." I reply, taken aback by this turn of events.

"No, you deserve to know, especially after you told me about you." She says, with a determined look in her eyes.

"Perhaps I didn't word that right. You don't need to tell me because I already know." Her eyes widen in shock.

"W-what are you talking about? How could you possible know?"

"Koneko-chan, I was entering the territory of another devil, and tracking down a group of rogue fallen angels, I didn't know if I was going to encounter hostile forces, and I also didn't know how willing the other peerages in the area would be willing to help. Obviously, this prompted me to do some digging about both the Gremory and Sitri peerages; I apologize if you feel what I did was a violation of your privacy, and I completely understand if you don't want to be around me anymore."

I try to stand up from my bed and leave the room, and I feel something long and thin wrap itself around my torso. Looking down, I see that the tail belongs to Koneko. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, Koneko immediately moves to my side, laying down and resting her head on my lap.

"Koneko-chan?"

"I could never hate you, Senpai." She stands up, gives me a quick kiss on the lips, and leaves. "I have to go make my reports to Rias-Buchou; I'll be back in about an hour."

Completely shocked by Koneko's unorthodox behavior, I sit unresponsive for a moment.

"Senpai?" Koneko asks, bringing me back down to earth.

"Oh, right. Could you do me a favor and not tell her my name or anything about me?"

"Why?"

"Rias and I actually have a bit of a history, and I want to mess with her a bit." I say, chuckling slightly to myself.

"Fine, but only because it's you." She says, letting out an absolutely adorable huff of frustration.

Turning on her heel, Koneko leaves me to my thoughts.

 **"You missed quite an opportunity there, partner**." Ddraig taunts.

"Ddraig, do the world a favor and stop thinking with your- no sorry- my dick." I snap back. "By the way, I'm still pissed at you for not telling me about Raynare being here."

 **"What was it you told that nekoshou? I wanted to mess with you a bit. If she posed any actual threat to you, I'd let you know in an instant."**

"The danger doesn't matter. I asked you if you'd found any fallen angels, and you gave me incorrect information. The risk associated with misinformation is enough to be deadly. Do I need to remind you of what happened in Amsterdam?"

 **"We agreed never to speak of that again."**

"If you had done your job, there'd be nothing to speak about."

 **"Don't you need to look for the fallen angels?"** Ddraig said, obviously trying to change the subject.

"You're right. We'll continue this later."

Standing up, I walk downstairs to the kitchen to grab something for breakfast. I decide to leave a note in case Koneko comes back to the house while I'm out.

 _Koneko-chan,_

 _I went out for a bit to hunt down the fallen angels Azazel told me about. If you think you can find me, feel free to do so, if not, I should be back around noon._

 _Issei_

Leaving the house, I have Ddraig scan the area for any fallen angels who aren't Raynare.

 **"I'm picking up something that seems to be a fallen. It's in the park over by your school."**

"Let's go, this should get interesting. Start building up energy in case we have to fight, I want to end this quickly. And whatever you do, don't let me kill them until I've got the information we need."

Entering the park, I don't sense anything out of the ordinary.

"Ddraig, I thought you said there was a fallen here." I ask, thinking that the dragon was getting revenge for this morning.

 **"There was. I'm not exactly sure where they are now, but they're close."** He responds.

I feel a chill down my spine as the air grows colder. Suddenly, the park is surrounded in an iridescent field of light.

"Look what we have here, a stray devil without its master." Sneers a voice from behind me.

"Do your research, I don't have a master." I reply, without turning around. "By the way, thanks for setting up a barrier; now I don't have to worry about the humans who might get in the way."

"There's no way a weakling like you could be a master!" the fallen shouts, disgust adding a harsh edge to his voice.

I turn around just in time to watch him summon a spear of light and throw it at me. Time seems to slow down as I watch the spear hurtle through air on a collision course with my chest.

 **"From what I can tell, you've got two options. One: dodge by rolling out of the way. This allows you to escape unscathed, but will leave you open for a follow up attack for two point eight seconds. Two: equip the gauntlet and catch the spear. This will allow you to throw it back at the fallen; however, if you don't equip the gauntlet in time, you will sustain massive damage."** Ddraig says, explaining the situation.

"What's the time window for equipping the gauntlet?"

 **"You'll need to start within the next point five seconds. That's what will seem like a minute to you."**

"Excellent. As soon as I grab the spear, I want you to help improve my aim to take out his left leg."

 **"Understood."**

As time begins to speed up again, I've already begun to equip the gauntlet that my boosted gear manifests in. Light, a substance that is toxic to devils, should theoretically have no effect on the gauntlet; as the boosted gear itself is draconic.

Time at full speed once again, I pluck the light-spear out of the air. The fallen angel's face contorts into one of both anger and utter bafflement.

My focus pinpointing on the fallen's kneecap, I throw the spear back at my assailant. As soon as the light pierces the fallen's leg, the smell of burning flesh permeates the air. The angel falls over, clutching at his injury. Within seconds, I'm on him.

"Now, fallen angel, you will answer every question I ask honestly, or I will vaporize you, one centimeter at a time." I snarl, igniting a fire in my free hand for emphasis. "Question one: What is your name?"

"Kiss my ass, devil scum!" He yells, spitting in my face.

"Now now, kiss my ass-san, that doesn't sound right to me. Why don't you tell me your real name?" I lower my hand on his injured knee and engulf it in flames.

"Ipos! It's Ipos! Please! I'll tell you whatever you want to know!" He screams.

Removing my hand from the smoldering husk of his leg, I smirk.

"Now, was that so hard? Where are you based out of?"

"I don't know, I swear! I just arrived today. I was told I'd be contacted by Donhaseek; and then he'd show me where to go!" He says. Monitoring his heart rate, I can see that he's not attempting any deception.

"Donhaseek? I can't believe it. Where were you supposed to meet him?"

"He was going to find me. All I know is that they've got a huge team of exorcists on the lookout for new recruits."

"Last question: What are you planning to do?"

"All I know is that a nun is coming to town in a few days, and she's got some kind of sacred gear. I'm not sure what they're planning, but it's got something to do with her."

"You're sure you don't want to say anything else?" I ask, re-igniting my hand and holding it up to his face.

"That's it, I swear! Please don't hurt me!" He cries.

"Thank you for your cooperation, I promise I won't hurt you." Say as I stand up.

I level my gauntlet at his head.

 **[Dragon Shot!]**

All that remains is a smoking crater.

"See? That didn't hurt a bit." I mutter to myself.

With the caster dead, the barrier around the park crumbles; and all of the environmental damage reverts to the state it was before the confrontation.

"S-Senpai! What were you thinking?!" I'm shocked to see Koneko standing at the park entrance.

"Koneko-chan? How much did you see?" I ask, preparing myself to enter damage control mode.

"Everything after you caught the spear." She replied. "I can't believe you, Senpai!"

"Koneko-chan, I understand that must have been a shock for you to watch, but-"

"I don't care about that! What were you thinking?! How could you go looking for a fallen angel alone!? Do you have any idea how I would feel if something were to happen to you, if you died?" She moves towards me slowly, tears glimmering in her eyes.

"K-Koneko-chan, calm down. I'm fine, you don't have to worry. I'll never do anything that I don't think I can handle. I'm not going to die on you, I promise."

Walking up to her, I put my hand on her shoulder and start to walk. "Let's go home, Koneko-chan."

She sniffs, wipes her eyes, and begins to walk.

(End)

AN: I decided to create some characters to fill in a gap in the ranks of the fallen angels, since Raynare is with Issei and I want to hold off the fight with Donhaseek until later. I want to say thanks for all of the feedback I've gotten on the previous chapters, and remind you all that I'd be happy to listen to any ideas or opinions that you might have about the series. I don't really have any specifics in mind as to where this is going, so if there's anything you'd like to see, feel free to send me a PM, and I'll see what I can do.


	5. Chapter 4

I decided that instead of going home, I'd take Koneko out for some lunch. Even with all of my reassurance, she didn't calm down much; so I figured that she needed something to take her mind off of the fight in the park.

Sitting in the patio of a nearby café, I order coffee for myself and a parfait for her.

"Senpai?" she says, breaking the silence that stood between us.

"Yes, Koneko-chan?" I respond, thankful that she's even willing to speak to me.

"How do you know Rias-Buchou?" She asks, me just being thankful it's not a question about the fallen angel in the park.

"After my parents were killed, I was taken in by Sirzechs-sama for a little while before I was entrusted to Azazel. Back then, all he really did was help along my recovery; but after I left Azazel, I went to my families land in the underworld, and did some work for the Gremory house. One of my jobs was to look after Sirzechs-sama's little sister, who was nine at the time. The rest of the staff thought it would be fitting; seeing as I never had much of a childhood myself. Seven years later, when Rias was sixteen, I decided it was time I go out and look for answers about the fallen angels who killed my parents. Let me just say, I have yet to see her more upset than she was the day I left." I let out a small chuckle at the memory."Oh, that reminds me of something. When Rias was asking you to watch me, did she give any indication she knew it was me?"

"Not that I could tell. She didn't mention you by name, and she all she said was that you had a very powerful aura." She replies with a hint of… could it be, jealousy?

"Fantastic!" I start grinning as I begin to formulate a plan. "This gives me an absolutely great idea, but I can't do it without your help. What do you say: are you in?"

"That depends, what are you planning and how am I involved?" she says, looking apprehensive to say the least.

"One of my greatest skills is illusion magic, and using it I can look like anybody. I'm thinking on Monday, when I go to see Rias and the rest of your peerage, I use magic to look like you. Obviously, I don't intend to do it without your permission, but I think it would be a great way to mess with Rias. I'm not sure if you know this, but she doesn't handle sudden surprises very well."

"I don't see why I can't, as long as you can promise you won't get in any trouble." Koneko replies, blushing slightly.

"Relax, it'll be fine."

The rest of the time in the café is spent in relative silence, me sipping my coffee and Koneko digging into the parfait that's bigger than her head.

Standing up to leave, Koneko moves over to my side and takes my hand in hers.

"Koneko-chan, is something wrong?" I ask, slightly confused by her actions.

"No." She replies, blushing furiously.

 **"How oblivious can you get? It's obvious that she has feelings for you."** The voice of Ddraig resonates in my skull.

"What are you talking about? she's just worried about me." I think in response.

"The weird echo voice is right, Senpai." Koneko says, ducking her head and squeezing my arm against her small body.

Pulling back in shock I stare at her.

"K-Koneko-chan?" I say, dumbfounded.

"D-do you not feel the same way?" She asks, looking panicked, her eyes filling with tears.

"Back up for a second! How could you hear Ddraig?!"

 **"She was holding on to the arm the sacred gear manifests on. My voice resonated through your hand and into her.** " Ddraig says, speaking out loud this time.

"S-Senpai, what's that voice?" Koneko asks, tears trickling down her cheeks.

"Koneko-chan, this is Ddraig, the Welsh Dragon. He's the one I told you about last night, the reason I got to be so powerful so fast."

"Oh. I-I understand. Anyway, about what he said earlier, d-do you feel the same way." She asks, taking a slight step back and clutching her hands to her chest.

"Koneko-chan. I do, but that's the very reason that you need to keep your distance from me."

She looks crushed.

"Senpai, what are you saying?" she asks, tears flowing freely down her cheeks.

"In a few days, I'm not entirely sure when, I'm going to be launching an attack on the fallen angels who killed my parents. From what I understand, there are three of them; and they have a small army of exorcists. From the way things are looking," I let out a sigh "from the way things are looking, there's a very small likelihood that I'll be coming out alive."

She lets out a small sob, and runs forward, wrapping her arms around me.

"I'll go with you." She says, pressing her face into my chest, trying to hide her tears.

"I know you would, that's one of the reasons you're so great; but I don't want to risk you getting hurt."

"Perhaps I might be able to help you two." Says an all too familiar voice from behind us.

Turning around, I see Rias standing there with arms crossed and her eye twitching.

"R-Rias-buchou?!" Koneko stammers, obviously shocked by the sudden appearance of her master.

"Koneko, you have one minute to tell me exactly who this person is, and why you didn't tell me truth this morning." Rias says, obviously frustrated.

"Well, Rias, I'm kind of hurt." I say, "Sure, it's been two years, but to think that you'd already forgot about me. And after such heartfelt words as I was leaving."

"Wait, it couldn't be… Issei?" She gasps, blush shooting to her face.

"Well it certainly isn't Sairaorg." I taunt. Grinning like a fool.

"Buchou, do you think we can help Ise-Senpai?" Koneko says, reminding us of her presence.

"Well, I can't order you to, as that could be seen as a declaration of war. However, if my peerage were attack without authorization, then I could punish them and not incur any unwanted conflict."

Taking this to be a sign of approval, Koneko breathes a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, Buchou." She says, grateful for the chance to help me.

"For what, Koneko-chan?" She asks, obviously understanding.

I start walking away from the two devils, hoping to extricate myself before all hell breaks loose; because Rias is still the same as two years ago, she' s going to get extremely possessive of me; and I want to avoid any fights.

(end)

AN: I've been getting a lot of good feedback, so I'm glad to see that you guys are enjoying the story so far. I'm going to try to upload at least one chapter a day from here on out, but I can't make any promises. Just a reminder: if you have any ideas about what you'd like to see in the story, don't hesitate to let me know, and I'll try to find a way to work them in.


	6. Chapter 5

AN: I know the last couple chapters have been a little on the short side, and I've received feedback affirming this fact. I've been working on adding length, and I've got a plan in store for the future. I'm just going to ask you to bear with me a little bit longer, because as soon as I finish setting things up, I'm going to be able to make the chapters a lot longer than they currently are. Right now, I'm just working on finding out how I want this to progress, which is why the chapters are so short right now; but once I get the feel for how I want this piece to pan out, I'm going to be able to add more into each chapter.

(With that, let's begin)

Sunday morning comes with unexpected developments. I wake up to find both Rias and Koneko sleeping in my bed; Koneko planted firmly on my chest and Rias hugging me from the right.

Opening her eyes, Rias lets out a yawn and hugs me closer to her, apparently naked, body.

"R-Rias! What are you doing?!" I shout, sitting up and accidentally throwing Koneko onto the bed.

"Oh, good morning, Issei." Rias says, reaching her arms above her head; and bearing her breasts for the world to see in the process.

"Put some clothes on, Rias!" I yell, completely flustered by the situation.

"What's the matter, Issei? Don't like what you see?" Rias asks seductively, running her hands through luscious red hair.

Koneko, in an equal state of undress, moves towards me. Wrapping her arms around my torso and burying her head in my chest, she begins to speak in a timid voice.

"Are we not good enough for you, Senpai?" She asks, obviously afraid to hear my answer.

"That's not the issue here!" I shout back, covering my eyes and panicking.

 **"You'll have to excuse him, he's not used to being caught off-guard like this."** Ddraig tells the two women.

"You stay out of this!" I yell at the dragon.

 **"Just trying to help, partner."**

"Just relax, Issei, most men would kill to be in your position right now." Rias says, leaning forwards and kissing me full on the lips.

Suddenly, the air grows cold. A chill travels up my spine, and I can sense the distinct energy signature of holy weaponry.

"Rias, are you feeling this too?" I ask, summoning the boosted gear on my arm and taking a combative stance.

Before Rias has a chance to respond, the door to my room explodes in a shower of splinters.

"Heellooo shitty devils!" Says an extremely grating voice from beyond the smoke.

"Shit! Koneko, Rias, get out of here now!" I shout, stepping between the two ladies and the doorframe.

"What have we here? Is the shitty devil scum getting protective of the ladies?" Asks the voice of the intruder.

Attempting to buy time while Rias and Koneko escape, I step forward, engaging the enemy.

"You know, Freed, it's generally considered bad form to barge in while a man's in bed with his women." I taunt.

"That may be, but shitty devils like you don't have such rights!" Yells the voice of Freed Sellzen, my least favorite exorcist.

Freed steps through the door, wielding a light sword and pistol, waving them about like an idiot.

With Koneko and Rias finally teleporting away, I begin to go all out.

"You'll pay for what you did to my house!" I yell as I charge the exorcist, the glow from my sacred gear glinting off of his white hair.

"Just put it on my tab." Taunts the exorcist, swinging his sword like a madman.

Jumping out of the way, I punch Freed in the stomach, putting all of my power behind the blow. Unable to brace for impact, Freed is lifted off of his feet and thrown through the roof of my home.

 **"BOOST!"** I hear Ddraig say, signaling him building my power.

Jumping up through the newly created hole in the roof, I use my devil wings to fly up to the limp body of the exorcist.

"Get ready, Sellzen, because this is gonna hurt." I warn, slamming my fist into his face; and sending him plummeting down to my house.

The sheer force of the impact caused the entire structure to crumble inwards, trapping the exorcist inside the rubble.

"Well, that takes care of that." I say to no one in particular, beginning to fly away from the scene.

I begin to think on where Koneko and Rias might have teleported to; and decide that the best place to start would be the school. Flapping my wings and flying northeast, I begin to travel towards my targeted destination.

I'm not in the air for long when black feathers start to rain down around me. Looking upwards, I can see Raynare hovering above me.

"Now Ise, I hope you didn't forget about our date."

"Ray, if you couldn't tell; I'm a bit busy right now. I need to find Rias and Koneko-chan before they start to worry."

"It's considered bad form to talk about other women while you're on a date, Ise." Clearly turning around what I said to Freed. "Besides, those two can stand to be separated from you for a little while." She says, obviously jealous of the attention I'd been giving the two girls.

"Fine, follow me and we can start." I say as I begin my descent into a park.

"No need to be so enthusiastic." She grumbles sarcastically.

Upon landing, my mood begins to improve; due in part to the fact that I received word from Rias that she and Koneko were okay. Deciding to make the most of the day, I take Raynare shopping for some clothes. My arms heavy with bags, we decide to stop in for lunch at a nearby café, where the business talks begin.

"Ray, do you know anything about rogue activity in the area?" I ask, suddenly very serious.

"From what I understand, Donhaseek, Mittelt, and Kunopegos are planning something involving a sacred gear. I've got a friend of mine working on the inside, and she tells me that Mittelt doesn't really want to be involved; but she doesn't have much of a choice." She lets out a sigh of frustration. "On top of the angels, Kalawarner -my friend- says that there's a team of about a hundred exorcists."

"Sounds like a party." I say, chuckling. "I'm kind of hurt that I wasn't invited."

"Ise, be serious, I don't think you can handle this alone! Let me go with you!" She says, sounding very similar to how Koneko did yesterday.

"Ray, have I shown any intention to stop you? To be honest, I think that those odds might just be pushing it a little; so your help would be greatly appreciated." I explain. "Anyway, are you positive Mittelt is involved? This doesn't really seem to be her style."

"From what Kalawarner says, Mittelt's against the entire idea, but Donhaseek's making her do it."

"How is Donhaseek forcing Mittelt to do anything? She's not exactly the type to care about blackmail."

"I'm not entirely sure; but if we attack them, she might be inclined to help us out. Especially since we could use her to get close to Donhaseek and Kunopegos without raising suspicion."

"Sounds like a good plan to me. I've already got some info from a lower ranked angel named Ipos, apparently there's a nun coming in who's got a pretty powerful sacred gear; and whatever they're planning involves that. I'd like to have this nun in my peerage; the sacred gear could be useful; so I want to hold off the attack until she gets here. Has Kalawarner told you about where they're operating from?"

"She said that they've set up a base in the abandoned church on the east edge of town."

I let out a growl of frustration, angry at my not thinking of that.

"Is something wrong, Ise?" Raynare asks, worried about my behavior.

"I'm just mad that I didn't think of the church. I mean, really, it's so obvious!"

I let out a sigh and rest my head in my hands. Meanwhile, Raynare is sitting across from me trying to stifle her laughter.

"Well, I'll just leave you to your thoughts, I'm going to go check up and see if I can get anything else out of Kalawarner."

She stands up to leave, grabs her purse, and pats me on the head.

I look up, confused.

"What was that?" I ask, slightly annoyed.

Instead of a verbal response, Raynare leans in and kisses me full on the lips. Pulling back she smiles and teleports away. After she leaves, I sit there dumbfounded for what feels like an hour.

"Excuse me, are you all right?" I hear a voice ask.

I turn my head and stare, taking in the sight of the speaker.

She's dressed in the traditional outfit of a nun, a green habit with a white cowl. Underneath the cowl, I can see clear green eyes and slivers of blond hair. The entire effect of her appearance put together would be enough to be mesmerizing, if it weren't for the cross around her neck.

"I'm fine, thank you for worrying about me." I reply, somehow eliciting a shocked look on her face.

"You speak Italian? Fantastic! Would you mind showing me the way to the nearby church? I would ask somebody else, but nobody else understands me; and I don't know that much Japanese."

Realizing that my devil abilities were automatically translating our conversation, I stand up and introduce myself.

"My name is Issei Hyoudou, but you can just call me Ise. And who might you be? If you don't mind my asking."

"I'm Asia Argento, it's nice to meet you, Ise-san."

"You're looking to go to the old church, right?" I ask, checking to see if she's the sacred gear wielder the fallen are after.

"That's right, I was assigned to go there and try to raise attendance."

"Well, let's go."

(end)

AN: As I said before, the next few chapter are going to be a bit on the shorter side, but after I get everything set up; I'll be making them longer. I want to say thanks for all the feedback I've been getting, and encourage more. As it will always be, feedback (positive or otherwise) is appreciated, and if you have any ideas about where you'd like to see the story go, I'd be happy to take them into consideration. Thanks for reading, and I should have the next chapter up sometime tomorrow.


	7. Chapter 6

AN: Sorry for the extreme lack of updates, I've been really sick recently and had to get some surgery done. I'm still recovering, so I won't be able to put out a chapter a day like I'd promised, but now that I'm back home I can start working again. I appreciate the support I've gotten, as well as the feedback people have been leaving; I'm glad to see that you all are willing to contribute your ideas and thoughts about the story.

Edit (if it can be called that): Apparently, something went wrong and the the text got converted into code, obviously, I've fixed the problem. Thank you Samurai538 for pointing out this critical error.

(And begin)

Walking down the street with Asia next to me, I begin to strike up a conversation.

"So, is this your first time in Japan?"

"Yes, I've been with the church most of my life, and I've been so busy with my duties that I've never had time to go anywhere or do anything else." She replies, looking somewhat wistful.

"Is something wrong, Asia?"

"No, it's nothing. I was just thinking about some things." She answers, attempting to avoid talking about what's really troubling her.

Before I can press for more details, Asia's head snaps up, and she looks into a park on our left. Her gaze immediately hones in on a young boy on the ground, clutching his knee. Even from here, I can hear him crying, and obviously Asia can too. She rushes over to him begins to comfort him.

"Don't cry; it's just a scrape. You're a boy, after all" She says while patting his head.

"You do know he can't understand you, right?" I ask.

Ignoring me, she places her hands on the boys injured leg, catching both him and me by surprise. Two silver rings appear on her delicate fingers, and a green light envelops her hands and the boy's leg.

Shocked by her powers, I begin to confer with Ddraig.

"Ddraig is that-"

 **"Twilight Healing. One of the more powerful sacred gears. While it has no offensive capability, it's incredibly useful as a healing tool. I'd assume that the fallen angels intend to use her to continuously regenerate after battles."** He replies, knowing what I was going to ask.

Once the scrape on the boy's leg had been healed, Asia stood up and smiled down at the boy.

"Look! Your wound's gone! It's all right now." She says, the boy just staring at her, confused. She lets out a small gasp and turns towards me. "Sorry, force of habit." She apologizes.

"Don't worry about it, Asia. I'm just more impressed at what you did just now." I say, gesturing for her and me to continue on our way.

Catching up alongside me, she begins to speak in a rather guarded fashion.

"I must have surprised you." She says, ducking her head and tightly gripping her suitcase.

"Well, you have a pretty amazing power." I respond, trying to pull her out of the funk she's in.

Looking up at me, she puts on a forced smile.

"It's a wonderful power granted by God." She responds, attempting to sound happy. "Yes, a wonderful power…" She adds, her face dropping and appearing more sullen then before.

"Asia, is something the matter?" I ask, hoping to understand more of her background.

"Oh, no. I'm sorry, just sinking into thought again." She answers, snapping back to reality to dodge my questions.

"You seem to be doing that a lot. It's not my business to pry; but if you want to talk, I'm here." I say, trying to get her to open up to me.

"It's nothing, Ise-san. I really appreciate your concern, though." She says.

"If you say so." I say, attempting to act aloof. "So, there's a restaurant over there, and you must be getting hungry. How about we stop for lunch before I drop you off at the church?"

After checking the time, she nods.

"I have some time before I need to get to the church, but I don't have any money left." She says, again putting on the sad look I've grown to despise.

"Don't worry, I've got more than enough money to pay for the both of us. I guess lunch is on me today." I say, chuckling in an attempt to bring up her mood.

"I guess so." She says, giggling slightly at my antics. While I'm glad to see that she's returning back to her old self, I wish I knew what caused her mood in the first place.

 **"It must be something involving her sacred gear."** The voice of Ddraig tells me, obviously picking up on my train of thought.

"Come on, Ddraig! Have you ever even considered respecting my privacy?!" I ask, incredibly irritated at his interruption.

 **"We share a brain, there's no such thing as privacy."** Stating the obvious and pissing me off to no ends.

"You can be a real ass sometimes." I say, getting more irritated by the moment.

 **"Does that mean that you're half an ass?"** He quips, attempting to be funny.

"I'd kill you if it didn't mean killing me." I growl, sneering.

"Ise-san? Why do you look angry? Is something wrong? What do you mean, you want to kill me?" I hear Asia ask hysterically; apparently I spoke the last part aloud.

"Oh, did I say that out loud? Sorry, I was just thinking about something that happened online a couple of weeks ago." I lie, attempting to quell her panic. While she accepts my lie, she still seems to be more wary of me than before; but I guess it's understandable, I did just say I wanted to kill someone.

After we arrive at the restaurant, Asia tries to strike up a conversation to fill the void of silence that's been between us for the last few minutes.

"So, Ise-san, how did you learn Italian?" She asks.

Taking a moment to plan my response, I begin to confer with Ddraig.

"Well, I can't exactly tell her that I'm a devil and it comes naturally to me."

 **"Agreed, I think the wisest course of action is to tell her a bent version of your story, and say that you picked it up on your travels.** "

"One problem, I still look like a seventeen year-old."

 **"Just say you traveled with a family member."**

"Good idea. This also gives me a chance to play up to her soft side. I want you to plan out a story and guide me through it while I talk."

 **"Understood."**

With the exchange finished, I let out a small sigh.

"It's a bit of a long story; and some of the details are pretty grim. Are you sure you want to hear it?" I ask, buying time for Ddraig to fabricate my past.

"If you want to talk, I'm here." She says, obviously alluding to our previous conversation.

"The entire brouhaha" she giggles at my word choice "started when I was six. Some thieves broke into my house and killed my parents while on the job." She lets out a gasp, tears rushing to her eyes. "I was taken in my uncle, who was always traveling for work. Most of the time, I ended up having to go with him, and we spent a lot of time in Europe. I was actually living with my uncle in London until a few months ago when he had a heart attack and passed away." A fake tear rolls down my cheek, drawing a whimper from my tablemate. "After he died, I decided to come back to my home town to finish out high school; so here I am."

"I-I'm so sorry for all that you've been through. I'll make sure to keep you in my prayers." She says, following the typical pattern that almost everybody said, minus the prayers.

"Don't apologize for something that you had no control over them." I say, my tone hardening. "These things happen, no matter how depressing it is. Condolences and apologies can't raise the dead."

 **"Neither can revenge."** Ddraig tells me.

"Back off, I'm busy" I think back, thoroughly infuriated at his insolence.

(End)

AN: Thanks for reading this newest chapter, and also putting up with my absence; especially because I'd promised I'd put up a chapter a day. For the next week or two, I can't promise daily updates, I'm not at 100% as of yet, but I'll still try to put stuff out for you all. Just wanted to say that any feedback (positive or otherwise) is greatly appreciated. And if you have anything you'd like to see in the series, just let me know; and I'll see what I can do to accommodate you. Thanks again.


	8. Chapter 7

"Ise-san, is there something wrong? You've been zoning out on and off for the last twenty minutes." Asia asks, pulling me away from my mental conversation with Ddraig.

"No, it's nothing." I respond automatically.

"You know, saying nothing like that just makes people more curious."

"I suppose; but believe me, this isn't something you want to know about."

 **"Just tell her the truth, if you do she might decide to come over to our side."** Ddriag says.

"You know, for somebody who shares my brain, you really can be an idiot sometimes. As of right now, all I can do is make allegations about what the fallen are planning. What I need is concrete proof, so I need to wait until she's attacked, and then I can come in and save her. I'm in a tricky spot, because if I don't time her retrieval correctly, I'm going to be cast as a villain." I reply.

"Anyway, Asia" I say aloud, "It's almost three, do you think that we should start heading towards the church?"

Jumping to her feet, she begins to panic. "I had no idea that it was already so late; I'm sorry to bother you, Ise-san, but I need to leave."

Standing up, I toss three one-thousand yen (a total of about $25) notes on the table, "Don't worry about it. Just follow me; we'll be there in about ten minutes." I say, gesturing for her to follow me as I walk out the door.

Walking down the street, silence reigns once more. Although it's early in the afternoon, the shadows begin to lengthen, giving the entire town a rather unsettling feeling. The typical sound that's expected of an urban center has been muffled dramatically, reduced from a dull roar to a quiet hum in the background. Making our way east, we begin to leave the urban center of Kuoh, and enter a quiet residential area. Houses arranged in even rows line the streets, children play in front yards; relishing in their time away from school.

Arriving in front of the hill the church is on, I get an all too familiar prickly feeling in my spine, the presence of holy entities. Looking down at my watch, fabricate an excuse to leave her.

"Sorry Asia, I've got some things to take care of that I completely forgot about; so you go on ahead. If you'll look, the church is straight ahead, it's hard to miss." I say with a chuckle. Turning around and walking away, I hear Asia call out to me.

"Thank you for helping me find my way, Ise-san" She says.

Turning back to face her, I call back. "It's my pleasure, Asia. I'll see you around."

Waving, I walk back towards the center of town.

 **"I think you're forgetting about something, partner."** Ddraig tells me, sounding unbelievably smug.

"And what might that be?" I ask, growing increasingly irritated at the dragon.

 **"You destroyed your house this morning during the fight with the exorcist. As of now, you don't have anywhere to stay for the night."**

"Well," I snap back "isn't that fantastic"

 **"I don't appreciate sarcasm."**

"Sorry, but after over twenty years, you really should learn to live with it. Anyway, I could probably call in some favors with Azazel to get it rebuilt. Besides, if I'm going to start building my peerage, I'll need a bigger house anyway."

 **"But what are you going to do until construction is finished?"** Ddraig asks.

"Hmm. Good question. I guess I'll just ask Rias if I can stay at the school."

Turning north, I start walking. Somehow, I end up at a square in the middle of Kuoh's commercial district. Walking through, I'm approached by a girl passing out fliers.

"Please check us out!" She says, handing me a leaflet.

Looking down, I almost burst out laughing. Right in the middle of the leaflet is a summoning circle with the Gremory crest. Really, Rias? This is how you go about getting contracts?

Stuffing the handout in my pocket and walking away, I begin to snicker.

"And what has you so happy?" Asks a very familiar voice from behind me.

"Glad I ran into you, Rias, I've got a favor I need to ask you." I say, turning around and reaching into my pocket.

"You didn't answer my question, Issei."

Pulling out the leaflet, I hold it up where she can get a clear view.

"I was just surprised by how forwards you were. It's not every day that contracts are offered through handouts."

She blushes furiously as she snatches the paper out of my hand.

"It still works." She mumbles so low I can barely hear her.

"I don't doubt that." I quip back, deciding to have a little bit of fun before the business talks start. "After all, who wouldn't believe what they read on a random strip of paper?"

"Now you're just being mean!"

"It's my job. So… about that favor?"

"What do you need?" She asks.

"Remember when that exorcist attacked my house this morning?"

"How could I forget?"

"Fair point. Anyway, I went a little overboard and kind of…" I pause in embarassment

"Kind of what?" She asks, growing both curious and agitated.

"I destroyed my house." I say quickly.

She just stares at me for about thirty seconds before bursting into uncontrollable laughter.

"It's not funny!" I yell.

 **"Yes, it is."** Ddraig says aloud.

"You stay out of this!" I shout, getting more flustered by the second.

"Just forget it, Issei. What do you need?" Rias asks, attempting to put the conversation back on track.

"I was wondering if I could stay in the clubroom until my new place gets built."

"No." She replies, not even taking time to think on it.

"Well, then I guess I'll need to find a hotel then." I don't even make an attempt to hide the anger in my voice.

"Let me finish. I won't let you stay in the clubroom because you're staying with me." She says, obviously growing irritated.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" I ask, getting extremely nervous about nights to come.

"Relax, I won't pull anything." She says.

"Good."

"Without your consent." She mumbles.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that. Anyway, I don't like to be indebted to anybody, so how can I pay you back?"

"Koneko went to respond to a summoning about half an hour ago, but something about it doesn't sit well with me. If you really want to pay me back; could you drop in to make sure that everything's okay?"

"Won't be a problem."

Standing outside of the clients house, I can tell immediately that something's wrong. My first hint is that there was a barrier constructed around the house; and I can't imagine Koneko having the power needed to perform such magic. My second, and most important, hint is the unmistakable energy signature of holy weaponry.

Bursting into the house, I see Koneko unconscious on the ground in front of my least favorite exorcist; Freed Selzen.

"You're still alive?" I snarl, stepping in front of Koneko and preparing to fight.

"It'll take a lot more than what some shitty devil like you can do to kill me!" He cackles, drawing his sword and aiming his pistol.

 **"Boost!** " The gauntlet that is the boosted gear forms on my arm.

"Listen, Freed, I'm not here for a fight. Don't get me wrong, I'll gladly kick your sorry ass from here to the moon; but I'm really not in the mood right now. So, how about this; you give me the girl, I let you live, and we both walk away completely unscathed."

"Sorry! I have a policy of not making deals with shitty devils." He begins to cackle as he adjusts his aim, the barrel of his gun pointing directly at Koneko's forehead.

"Man, Ddraig, what is it with these exorcists? You try to be civil; you try to be a nice guy; but no. They just have to step in and ruin the party." I say.

Leaping forwards, I slam my fist into the exorcists face, feeling the satisfying crunch of shattering bones. Blood spurts out of his nose and mouth, dying the both of us scarlet.

"You know, I've been told that red is a really brings out my eyes." I grunt as I drive an elbow under his ribs.

"Senpai?" I hear a voice from behind me say. Turning around, I see that Koneko has gotten back on her feet, and is glaring daggers at Freed.

Jumping back to her side, I start to talk while the exorcist recovers.

"Koneko-chan, I'll take care of this guy. You just keep an eye out for any fallen angels, okay?"

She steps in front of my and takes a combative stance.

"No, Senpai. This is my fight."

AN: I'm sorry for taking a while; apparently I'm not as fully recovered as I thought I was. Anyway, it's probably going to be about a week until the next chapter's up, I've got some family stuff to take care of. Anyway, any feedback you've got is enormously appreciated, and I'll be happy to consider any ideas that you bring to the table.

So with that, I bit you all adieu.


	9. Chapter 8

AN: Just realized that I didn't do anything to differentiate thinking from speaking, so from this point forwards, all thoughts will be in italics.

Also, since somebody brought it up, I just want to clarify that while Issei is indeed devil nobility, I never said that he was a full blooded devil. I thought I explained this, but looking back I realize that I didn't; my apologies. Issei's mother was devil nobility, but his father was a human (hence his ability to wield the boosted gear). I intended to touch further into this in a later chapter, and I still do, but this information is crucial to the story; and I'm deeply sorry for forgetting to touch on it in an earlier chapter.

(and so, begin!)

* * *

"No, Senpai. This is my fight."

I grab Koneko by the collar and pull her back.

"Koneko-chan, I was sent here with the sole purpose of assuring your safety; and as such I will not allow you to engage in a fight that is completely unnecessary." I say, stepping forward and glaring at Freed.

"Well, look at this! The shitty devil actually has a sense of honor!" I hear Freed cackle, taking a step forwards.

"That's real funny, coming from you." I say, closing the gap between us and punching him in the face.

"Koneko-chan, either leave now or stay out of the way; I won't have you getting hurt on my watch." I grunt, while grabbing Freed's head and slamming it into my knee at the same time. Next, I let out a flurry of blows that strike home all over Freed's body; with each one making a sickeningly satisfying crunch as they land.

Stepping back to recover my breath, I almost miss the exorcist slinking along the ground in front of me.

"Take this, you piece of shit!" He shrieks, pulling his light sword and taking a mad swing at me.

Caught off balance, I instinctually raise my arm to block; only to feel the searing pain of a light weapon slice into my body.

 **"Retreat! If you don't find a safe spot to regenerate, you're going to die of light poisoning!"** Ddraig yells at me as I collapse to my knees, barely able to think straight through the pain. **"Why didn't you block with the gauntlet?!"**

 _"I can't help my instincts, Ddraig. Just focus all extra magic on containing the damage; knowing Koneko, she'll jump in and pull me out within a few seconds._ " I reply.

I look up just in time to see the sick grin form on Freed's face as he raises his blade above my head.

 _"Well, that certainly puts a damper on our plans."_ I think, chuckling to myself

 **"This isn't the time to be making jokes!"**

"Please stop!" I hear a voice cry, along with footsteps racing towards me.

"Asia?" I groan.

"Well, if it isn't my assistant. Didn't I tell you to stand watch?" Freed sneers, drawing back but not lowering his blade.

"Father Freed… w-what are you doing?"

"Are you referring to my handiwork?" he gestures to the far wall of the room. Looking in the direction he's pointing; I can see a man, presumably the client, nailed to the wall.

Asia shrieks in terror.

"Or maybe you were referring to the shitty devil about to die at my feet!" He screams, training both his sword and gun on my forehead.

"Ise-san… is a devil?" she mutters, a look of sheer disbelief on her face.

The exorcist lets out a cackle. "Wait, what? You know each other? Wow, now this is a surprise!" He says, his eyes filled with bloodlust and madness. "Could this be forbidden love between a sister and a devil? Is this for real?"

 _"Dammit, Freed! She wasn't supposed to find out yet!"_ I snarl in my mind.

"Now," Freed orders "stand aside as I exterminate this devil scum!"

Surprising everybody in the room, Asia steps in front of me; her arms spread wide in an attempt to protect me.

"Asia-chan, do you know what you're doing?" Freed snarls, looking more menacing than ever.

She takes a deep breath.

"I… I do, father. I beg that you forgive this man and allow him to go free!" She pleads.

In the stunned silence that follows, I look over at Koneko and point towards the door.

She shakes her head furiously.

'Go!' I mouth, pointing at the door once again.

Suddenly, Asia is shoved to the side, and freed brings his sword down upon my chest. I feel pain only for a millisecond before I pass out.

* * *

My eyes feel so heavy that it's hard to even think about opening them.

Slowly coming back to my senses, I notice an unfamiliar (yet amazing) sensation enveloping my right arm. Forcing my eyes open, I look around and see Rias sound asleep.

 _"I'm alive?"_

 **"Very astute, partner. I wonder how you** ** _ever_** **managed to figure that out."** Ddraig quips.

 _"Not the time nor the place."_

 **"You're the one that almost died; so be quiet and take your lumps."**

 _"You say that like it's a rare occurrence._ "

 **"That's exactly my point! This is the fifth time this year that you've almost died; and it's only April!"**

 _"What can I say? I've got a quota to meet."_

 **"This isn't something to joke about. A majority of my past hosts have gone on to achieve great things; do you want to be known as one of the few who died before the achieved greatness."**

 _"Relax, if I was going to die, I would have done it already."_

 **"If it weren't for me, that would've been the case."**

I clench my fists and let out a low growl.

 _"Watch where you're taking this, Ddraig. You just toed a line that shouldn't ever be crossed."_

 **"Apologies, partner. You know very well what my intent was."**

 _"Just forget it."_

Rias yawns next to me and begins to open her eyes.

"So, how long was I out?" I ask, sitting up and realizing the state of undress that the both of us are in. "I guess a better question is how I survived."

"Sheer luck. After you passed out, Akeno and I teleported in to see if anything was wrong; we'd both thought it was strange to have not heard from you after so long. Koneko was fighting off the exorcist and defending your body, and it wasn't going too well. While he was distracted, Akeno pulled you back to safety, and Yuuto knocked out the exorcist. We all teleported back to the clubroom…" She pauses, a look of terror flashing onto her face.

"Rias, is something wrong?"

"It's nothing, I was just caught up in the memory."

"I'm guessing it was something awful; if it can make you react like that." I chuckle.

"Just look at the bed." She tells me, all color drained from her face.

Looking down, I see a set of bedclothes that have been completely saturated with my blood; the only evidence that these sheets were ever white is the unstained corners. Taking a deep breath, I finally pick up on the unmistakable yet indescribable scent of blood.

"And you're sure I survived this?" I ask, completely dumbfounded.

"Barely," She sighs "there were a couple times that we almost lost you, even know I'm not entirely sure how you managed to make it."

"There's no way that you had enough power alone to heal a wound of that size, so who else should I be thanking?" I ask.

"That would be me." Quips a tired voice from the doorway.

"Issei, meet Akeno Himejima-" Rias starts.

"Your Queen." I finish, knowing full well the validity of my information.

Both just stare at me.

"What? Am I bleeding again?"

"How did you know about my peerage?" Rias asks.

"I've already explained the entire thing to Koneko-chan, just ask her." I say, completely exasperated. "More importantly, how long was I out?"

"About two days." The both respond, almost in unison; creepy.

"Do you know the whereabouts of the fallen angel I was with the other day?"

"She's in the other room; and worried out of her mind." Rias says, "How did you two come to meet?" She continues, showing jealousy that comes natural to her.

"Rias, priorities. We'll talk about this later, but I've got some business to take care of." Standing up, I wobble a bit on my feet; causing both Rias and Akeno to rush to my sides in an attempt to support me.

Waving them off, I walk to the door, take a deep breath, and open it.

Looking out into the sitting area, I see Rias' peerage (and Raynare) sitting nervously on the couches in front of a desk.

"Senpai!" Koneko gasps as she shoots up from her seat.

"Good morning, Koneko-chan."

"Morning? You've been asleep for two days! It's three in the afternoon!" She says, clearly upset.

"It was a joke; believe me, I'm fully aware about what happened."

Turning on the fallen angel, I begin to talk.

"Raynare, have you heard from Mittelt or Kalawarner about their plans?"

"Issei…" She just stares at me.

"Ray! This is important. What have you heard?" I bark.

She shakes her head, trying to rid herself of whatever thoughts were plaguing her.

"Sorry. Donhaseek and Kunopegos are going to steal the girl's sacred gear, I don't know what it is, but it doesn't sound good."

"When's the ceremony?" I ask, worried that it might be too late.

"As far as I'm aware, it's tonight. What are you planning to do?"

"I'm going to destroy a church."

* * *

AN: I've got good news and bad news. Bad news first: the school year is about to start back, which means I won't be able to update as often as I'd planned because of work. (Lesson plans aren't going to write themselves) But, on the good side, I'm going to be able to make the chapters a lot longer (after the incident at the church) since I'll be taking a bit longer to write, polish, and upload them.

As always, I really appreciate you all taking the time to read this, and I encourage you to tell me what you think about the story, or what you might like to see. As always, if you have any questions or requests, please feel free to PM me and let me know.

See you next time.


	10. Chapter 9

The entire room looks at me in shock.

"Ise; I must have misheard you. Did you say that you were going to destroy the church?" Raynare asks me, looking nervous and sweating bullets.

"Not in a literal sense, that'd be too hard to cover up to the rest of the town." I explain, slowly inching my way towards the door. "Instead, I'm just going to destroy everything and everybody _in_ the church."

Rias notices my advancements and moves to cut me off, standing firmly in front of the only exit with her arms crossed.

"Come on, Rias, I've got some stuff to take care of before I go off to church." Remembering something, I tap my fist against my temple. "Oh! That reminds me of something. Ray, could you do me a favor?"

"That depends on the favor."

"I need you to tell Azazel that he owes me a new house."

"And why, pray tell, does the Governor General of the Fallen Angels owe you a house?" she sighs, blatantly showing the fact that she's had enough of my antics.

"Well," I chuckle "it's a bit of a long story; and I wouldn't ask him about it, he's still not too pleased with how the deal turned out."

I lightly push Rias out of the way and open the door.

"Well, thank you for patching me up," I call behind me "but I really should be going now. You know the deal: places to go, people to annoy, etc."

I close the door behind me; making much more sound than I'd fully intended.

* * *

Standing in front of the church, I pick up on the presence of an extreme amount of holy energy.

"I'm glad that nobody else came along." I mumble under my breath.

 **"And why is that, partner."** Ddraig asks.

"Because we're probably going to get our asses handed to us in there. Wait, if you're just in my brain, do you even have an ass?"

 **"Priorities."**

"Hey, I'd say this is pretty important! If you do have an ass, then you'd be dropping all your deuces inside my head!"

 **"You're nervous, aren't you?"**

"Is it that obvious?"

 **"You always act like this when you're stressed, partner. The important thing to remember is that you're not going into this fight alone."**

"I'm pretty sure that you and I still only count as one in a headcount."

 **"I'm not talking about that."**

"What, did you pick up on Rias or Koneko?"

 **"No, but I highly doubt that the two of them would be able to sit by."**

"Then what are you talking about?"

 **"From what your little girlfriend told us, there are two more fallen angels who would help us."**

"Kalawarner and Mittelt?"

 **"Correct."  
** "Maybe Kalawarner would; but we won't be able to get Mittelt's help unless Donhaseek's taken out first."

 **"Then we know who to target."**

"Our primary objective is rescuing Asia; Donhaseek and Kunopegos are secondary."

 **"Growing soft?"**

"Not in the slightest. She could be useful in the future; though I'd be lying if I say I approve of and innocent being killed just for their sacred gear. If the Fallen get away, then we can just hunt them down again; but if they take her with them, then she's as good as gone."

 **"I'm surprised to see you put your revenge on the back burner. I suppose you've really matured."**

"Don't get me wrong, Ddraig; I fully intend to kill them. But also; I'm twenty seven; it's about time I grew up a little."

 **"The sun is setting, it's time."**

"If we don't make it out of this, I just want you to know; it's been an honor."

 **"Likewise."**

"Well well, I never would have guessed to see you so sentimental. How very out of character, Issei." Calls out a voice from behind me.

Turning around, I see a figure silhouetted in a tree, definitely female; a very shapely one at that.

"Judging from the shadow, you're too tall and busty to be Mittelt. So, Kalawarner, what brings you outside your fortress?" I taunt.

Jumping down and landing in front of me, Kalawarner stands up and brushes off her shirt.

"Don't let her hear you say that, it'll be the death of you."

"Please, I'm already taking on an entire squad of exorcists alone; but you already know that. I assume Raynare has filled you in."

"I can't believe that you'd do something so unbelievably stupid!" She shouts.

"I'll take that as a yes." I mumble, preparing for the nagging of a lifetime.

"I mean seriously! What could possibly have possessed you to just think 'Oh, it's Tuesday, time to go fight an army'!"?" She shouts at me.

"The leaders are the men who killed my parents." I say somberly. "I wouldn't attack a force this big on a whim. Besides, these men have acted in defiance of the Governor General for years, and I have been ordered to put them down."

"Ordered? You're a devil! You don't need to listen to what Azazel-sama says; you're not under his jurisdiction!"

"I've had enough, are you going to help me or not?" I snarl, trying to hide the fact that I don't have a decent rebuttal.

"Do you even need to ask?" She walks forward and stands next to me.

"Here's the plan, I'm going to mask my aura so they can't find me. I need you to go and try to get the nun out of the church. She's the first priority. If you can, try and convince Mittelt to switch sides; but remember that your main objective is the girl. While you're doing that, I'll hunt down Donhaseek, Kunopegos, and whoever is leading the exorcists; do you know who that is?"

"His name is Freed Sellzen; I believe you two may have met each other."

"Freed? That's good; he thinks that I'm dead."

"What did you do this time?" She sighs.

"Long story, tell you more if I've got the time. Anyway, we've put this off long enough, it's time."

Kalawarner nods, then unfurls her wings and flies to the bell tower of the church.

Casting a spell to dampen my aura, I open the door of the church and slip inside.

Scanning my surroundings, I see the interior of the church is small, dusty and unlit; perfect for a stealth attack. Looking up at the altar, I draw a quick breath.

Standing atop the steps is a fallen angel wearing a trench coat and a fedora: Donhaseek.

"Hey, Donnie!" I call out in a loud whisper; trying to draw his attention and ruffle his feathers.

He snaps his head downwards and begins to scan the pews. While he does so, I sneak around the wall and climb into the rafters. After maneuvering myself to the point where I was right above him, I set up an imprint of my magic energy trace behind a pew about three rows away from the front of the altar. Being the experienced fighter that he is, Donhaseek notices right away; summoning a light spear and hurling it at the pew. Using a small amount of magic, I spice up the impact of his spear with a little explosion; nothing big enough to destroy the other pews, but enough to send splinters flying out.

He peers into the smoking wreckage, trying to see if he killed his target.

Taking advantage of his distraction, I jump down, grab his head as I fall, and slam it into the floor.

The marble is decorated with gray spider webs as cracks form from the sheer force of the impact of his skull.

"I wasn't behind the bench." I snarl as I summon a fire and hold it next to his head.

With proper light to see, I notice that there's now a rather large pool of blood forming around Donhaseek's face, and there's also a slight dent in his skull that takes the form of my hand.

"Well, that was a little overkill…" I chuckle to myself.

 **"You think?"**

"I was trying to look cool." I say, sounding as pompous as I possibly could.

 **"Well, bravo for that. What happened to your big vengeance speech, you've spent months preparing this whole spiel about the ghost of his past come back to haunt him; and now you go and do this!"** He say, unable speak because of how hard he's laughing.

"Are you going to be like this the whole night? Because we've still got work to do."

 **"You brought this upon yourself, partner."**

Deciding to be the better man and ignore him, I look behind the pulpit and see a set of stairs leading down underground.

* * *

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, I come to a large cavern with a raised Dias at the western end. Also, the cavern is filled with exorcists.

"Well this makes things fun." I grumble as I choke out one of the exorcists in the back of the chamber.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps echo in the passage where the stairs are, judging by the sounds, I'd say that there were a total of four people running full sprint down into the cavern.

 _"Looks like the cavalry has arrived"_ I think to myself, standing up to full height, opening my wings, and forming a fireball in my hand.

Everybody in the room looks at me, then the fireball, then at my wings, back at the fireball, back at me (I'm pretty sure one guy's checking out my crotch), and then they all duck.

Looking up at the altar, I see Asia attached to a cross, too defeated to even attempt escape.

"Asia! Just sit tight, I'll be up there in a moment to cut you down!" I shout.

She looks up, hope and relief filling her eyes.

"Ise-san, thank god! I thought that you had been killed!"

"Hold it right there, Devil. You make another move and she dies!" shouts a figure, probably Mittelt, who steps into the light dragging Kalawarner's limp body behind her.

"You don't want to do that, Mittelt!" I call back, letting a harsh edge slip into my tone.

"And why would that be?" she asks, clearly reveling in her falsely perceived victory.

"A couple of reasons, actually. One: Because while yes, Kalawarner is your hostage, if you kill her; then there's absolutely nobody you can use to assure that I won't absolutely pulverize everybody in this church. And my personal favorite, Two: You don't have to stick around with these traitors anymore because of some stupid blackmail, because Donhaseek's corpse probably can't do jack squat to you."

"What do you mean by that?" She asks shakily, obviously nervous about what I mean.

"About three minutes ago, I crushed Donhaseek's skull. I'm completely aware that the only reason that you even joined up with the dynamic duo is because Donhaseek was blackmailing you; so I thought that you might like to know that it's no longer an issue."

I begin to walk forwards, snapping the neck of every exorcist that get's in the way; and then promptly stepping over their corpses.

"And three:" I continue, still moving forwards. "there's a small force of about five more devils that should get here right about… now!"

Rias and her peerage burst through the doorway in an explosion of rock, dust, and lightening.

"So? Do you give up now?"

"You know, Issei, you really only had to say the Donhaseek thing." She says.

She conjures a light spear and impales the nearest exorcist.

"Get up, Kalawarner! There's no way you died after what I did." She says, leaping down off the platform.

A dark figure descends to take Mittelt's place.

"BE QUIET! A traitor like you shouldn't be allowed the right to speak!" The figure yells as he impales Mittelt's head with a light spear.

"You there, devil, do you really think that you can stand against me? Against Kunopegos, one of the greatest fallen angels ever to live? Especially now that the transfer of the girl's sacred gear has begun?"

Asia's body starts glow a bright green, and she screams as if in terrible agony. A bright orb of light appears on her chest, the rings of Twilight healing barely visible within.

"Watch, devil, as I become unstoppable!" Kunopegos shouts as he pulls the rings from within the sphere.

Asia shrieks once more before falling silent, obviously on the verge of death from having her sacred gear removed.

"You son of a bitch!" I scream as I launch myself at him.

* * *

AN: I've been planning this part of the story since before I even wrote the prologue, so I'm really excited to finally put this out. Feel free to let me know what you think about how I did. (Good or bad)

I don't really have much to say other than that, so I'm just going to say thanks again for all of the support that you've been giving this series. Also, as always, if you have any questions or requests on what you would like to see, feel free to let me know.

Thanks again.


	11. Chapter 10

AN: I'm just going to throw out a bit of a warning; the next chapter get's a bit gruesome. There are elements of torture and some seriously dark stuff talked about. If you're not cool with that I recommend that you skip the first part of this chapter.

* * *

I launch myself at Kunopegos with reckless abandon, intending to make him pay for what he's done.

Drawing in to close range, I notice that most of his body is covered in scars, a majority of them seeming to be from major burns. Deciding to end the fight quickly, I gather power in my legs and leap up about three and a half meters.

Kunopegos just stares as I soar above him and begin to fall once more, bringing my gauntlet-clad elbow in to solid contact with his face. I can tell that the fight is over when I see a violent squirt of blood and hear the cracking of his skull splitting into pieces. He crumples to the ground like a sack of bricks, and I move to apprehend him.

 **"You're not going to kill him?"** Ddraig asks.

 _"In due time, but I want to have a little conversation first."_ I think back.

Bending over, I grab Kunopegos by the hair and slam him into the wall behind me, eliciting a groan of pain from his barely conscious form.

"Do you know who I am?" I snarl.

No response.

"If you don't answer my question right now I will burn you alive one centimeter at a time!" I yell, igniting my hand and pressing it into his abdomen. The putrid smell of burning flesh filling the room is only overpowered by Kunopegos' screams of pain and terror.

Extinguishing my flame, I begin to speak again.

"Now, I'll ask you again. Do you know who I am?" I punch him in the stomach with each word.

"Ise, that's enough!" Rias says from behind me.

I turn on her, keeping one hand firmly on Kunopegos' throat.

"No!" I snarl "He took everything from me! Asia, my parents, my childhood, my home… my _humanity!_ " I yell. "He needs to pay."

Kunopegos gasps. "You…You're that brat from sixteen years ago!"

"Ise, this is too much! Come to your senses!"

Ddraig begins to speak through me

 **"Lady Gremory, with the state that my partner is in right now; I advise that you retrieve the innocents and leave immediately. At the current moment, my partner is acting purely on instinct and rage; and is highly likely to attack you if you stand in his way. For the safety of everyone here, I implore you to retreat at once!"**

Rias nods. "Yuuto, get the nun off the cross and bring her upstairs. Koneko and Akeno, get the two fallen angels out. Ise, I don't like that you're doing this, but I can't stop you. We'll be waiting upstairs; as a favor, I won't reanimate them into my peerage."

Her peerage sets about their tasks as she leaves.

Turning back to Kunopegos, I smile darkly.

"Well, I thought they'd never leave." I chuckle evilly. "Now we can get down to business. Do you remember when I gave you those scars?"

He nods, terrified.

"Well I don't. See, back then, I wasn't at the steering wheel; can't remember a thing. But now, I'm stronger; and I'm going to make sure that I don't forget this."

I plunge my hand into his stomach, using the sharp edges of the gauntlet to pierce the skin.

He screams in agony as I engulf my gauntlet in flames.

"Look at this! I thought you were 'one of the greatest fallen angels ever to live'! Do you really think that somebody of such a rank would be screaming from such a little amount of fire?"

Extinguishing my flames, I withdraw my hand from his stomach.

"W-why aren't I bleeding?" He asks, absolutely terrified.

"You aren't that bright, are you? I cauterized all the blood vessels that were open the moment I started the fire. Blood is so messy, I didn't really want my clothes to get stained; understand?"

He just stares at me.

"I asked you a question!" I scream as I slam his head against the wall again.

"I understand!" he shrieks.

"Good, most cultures consider it rude when you ignore a question. Now, where to go now? Ooh, how about this? Do you know what it felt like for Asia to have her sacred gear removed?"

He shakes his head.

"Well, neither do I…" I grin sadistically "But how's about you and I try to find out?"

I re-ignite my gauntlet and start to stab into various places all over his body.

"What's with all the screaming? This is only a warm-up! If you can't stomach this, what are you going to do for the main event?"

I move my gauntlet to his throat.

"Personally, I love humans." I say "See, humans have a little trait that makes them want to find out all kinds of information about the world. For instance, did you know that with enough heat, you can cut through anything?"

He shakes his head again.

"Now, I don't know about you; but I really want to test that theory. And even better; I just so happen to have a test subject right here!" I cackle manically.

I bring my gauntlet to his neck and start to heat it to as high a temperature as it could possible go.

"Now, I like to start things with a bang; I'll be heating this up to a toasty six thousand degrees Celsius (about eleven thousand degrees Fahrenheit), in case you didn't know; that's enough to vaporize a block of tungsten in an instant. How about we see what that does to your neck?"

"Please!" He screams as I put my gauntlet against his throat.

"Really? You're asking me to hold back? I don't recall you ever holding back against my parents, or me for that matter! I've had enough of you. Since you've been such a good sport, I'll make it quick."

I power up my gauntlet and slice cleanly through his neck, leaving a rather large portion of burnt flesh surrounding the area where I separated his head from his body.

 **"Satisfied?"** Ddraig asks, clearly appalled at my actions.

 _"I did what I had to do; and I'd do it again in a heartbeat."_

 **"Are you really so focused on revenge that you'd disregard your morals."**

" _I have nothing to avenge now, it's time to move on with my life."_

 **"Do not forget your fated match with the white one."**

 _"Ddraig, we could destroy that arrogant prick in an instant if need be."_

 **"Don't be so confident, you two haven't fought in years; and he's assuredly grown stronger since then."**

 _"So have we. And speaking of growing stronger, I believe I have a peerage to build."_

* * *

I walk up the stairs back into the main hall of the church. Looking around, I see Rias, her peerage, and the others scattered around the pews of the church. By now, Kalawarner's regained consciousness and is lounging against the pulpit.

"Glad to see you made it out alive." She calls out to me, drawing the attention of all the living in the room.

"Ise, did you…" Rias asks.

I nod.

She gasps, tears rushing to her eyes.

"Rias, he was an enemy; you cannot afford to grow sentimental about killing those who would happily do the same to you." I tell her.

"That's a little dark, even for me." Kalawarner says.

"I suppose; but that's just the way things are." I sigh.

I move over to Asia's side.

"How's she holding out?" I ask Rias.

"She just passed a few minutes ago, she wanted to see you."

"I don't doubt it; but I'll bring her back, Mittelt too."

I conjure my set of evil pieces and select a bishop.

"You're using a bishop, why not queen?" Rias asks.

"Asia isn't much of a fighter, regardless her sacred gear's nature; so it'd be wiser to give her a support role that boosts her magic ability."

I place the bishop piece in the center of Asia's chest and put the rings of Twilight healing I took from Kunopegos on her fingers.

"I order, in my name Issei Hyoudou, "I begin to chant. "You, Asia Argento. I resurrect you back to this soil as my servant; and have you reborn as a Devil. You, my bishop, be delighted with your new life!"

The piece glows red and sinks into her chest, and her sacred gear reenters her body.

Placing my ear to her chest, I learn that the reincarnation was a success by the telltale beating of her heart.

"Asia, wake up."

She groans and squints open her eyes.

"Ise-san? I thought I'd died…" She says in a daze of confusion.

A grin cracks across my face.

"Not so lucky, I'm afraid." I joke, causing her to chuckle.

"What happened?" She asks.

"I'll explain everything later, but right now I've got some other business to take care of."

Rushing over to Mittelt, I perform the same ritual on her as I did Asia, this time reincarnating her as one of my two rooks.

"Issei?"

"You can thank me later, Mittelt."

"What did you do to me?"

"Bit of a long story, we can talk about it later?"

"What happened to Kunopegos?"

"Do you want to know about his head, or the rest of him?"

"What did you do?"

"Again, we'll discuss this later."

Turning around, I walk towards the pulpit and Kalawarner.

"So, that was a thing." I say, chuckling and rubbing the back of my head.

"I don't see how you can be so calm about this! Do you have any idea how worried we were?!"

"Kalawarner, you don't need to worry; I don't take on anything that I don't think I can handle."

"That doesn't help! You have ridiculously high standards of yourself; you think you can handle anything!"

"Geez, thanks for the vote of confidence." I mumble.

"Don't get sulky on me, we both know it's true!"

"And here I was going to make you an offer." I huff, turning my back and walking away.

"Wait, what kind of offer?"

Turning around to face her, I begin to pitch my idea.

"So, now that I'm building my peerage up, I thought that you might like to join. Obviously, there are no hard feelings if you decline; it's completely up to you. But we talked about it before I left the underworld a few years ago; and you seemed to be interested, so I just wondering if you were still interested."

"I don't see why not."

"Are you sure? Once you do this there isn't any turning back."

"Now you're trying to dissuade me?"

"Just making sure." I say, pulling a knight piece and performing the required ritual.

Turning back to face Rias, I pull her into a hug.

"Thanks for helping me; I couldn't have pulled this off without you. And I'm glad you tried to stop me, it does the heart good to see that there's somebody as good as you left in the world."

She blushes. "I-Ise!" she stammers.

"Ara Ara, Rias; I never thought I'd see you looking so flustered." Taunts Akeno in a sultry voice.

"Akeno, not now." I tell her sternly.

Pulling back, I gesture to my new perrage and have them gather around me.

"Anyway, I think it's about time that we head home; it's getting late and I've got a lot of explaining to do; I'll see you all tomorrow."

"Ise-san, what do you mean by home?" Asia asks from behind me.

"Well, you can't stay here, so I figured that you could just stay with me; assuming that's alright with you."

She blushes.

"T-That's fine, Ise-san."

"I assume you two are okay with it as well?" I ask the former angels.

The both nod.

"Then let's go."

* * *

AN: As always, I'd like to thank you all for reading, and also give a shoutout to The Kitsune Saiyan, who requested that Kalawarner join Issei's peerage. I hadn't even thought of this on my own; but it seemed to be a great idea once they pitched it to me.

As always, if you have any ideas or thoughts on the story, feel free to let me know.

That's about all I have to say.


	12. Chapter 11

AN: I'm going to leave a bulk of the stuff till the end (the explanation of the absence, etc.) but I want to take some time to respond to my readers first.

gta2001: I can't make any promises about whether or not she will, because it'll be a bit difficult to write in a scenario where Rias willingly sacrifices a numerical advantage; so if I do, it'll be a while until then. But regardless of whether or not she joins his peerage, she is going to be a rather important asset to the story, and will remain as a member of the harem.

1337Pwny: Glad to see you approve.

Kirinthor: I do too.

As always, I'm willing to take any feedback (positive or otherwise), so don't hesitate to tell me what you think.

* * *

Mittelt is the one who breaks the silence on our walk home.

"So, let me get this straight." Mittelt says, "You decided to reincarnate me as a devil; and you didn't even consider what I might think about it. Is that about right?"

"I thought you might like it better than the alternative." I deadpan in return.

"The alternative being?"

"You dead with a four centimeter hole in the back of your skull."

"Oh."

"You can thank me later." I say, turning back to face the road.

We walk for two blocks before I turn around and face Mittelt.

"Mittelt,"

"What?" she snaps.

"It's later."

* * *

When we come within a block of my home, I notice the aura of two fallen angels; one extremely powerful, one not so much.

 _"Ddraig, is that who I think it is?"_ I ask.

 **"So it appears. Might I remind you that we do owe him a great debt; so it's best to stay in his good graces."**

I stop, causing the train of women behind me to follow suit; I turn to address them, an irritated grimace on my face.

"Ise-san, is something the matter?" Asia asks.

"Apparently we have an unexpected guest." I let out a sigh "Asia, I was hoping to hold off on this for a while; but you're about to get a firsthand experience of underworld politics."

She just stares at me in confusion while realization strikes Kalawarner like a lightning bolt.

"Politics?" she asks. "Then… you don't mean… He came all the way here?"

Mittelt looks as confused as ever.

"He? Who are you talking about?" she asks, looking slightly perturbed.

"You'll see once we get back to my place." I reply, shaking my head and turning back around.

Rounding the corner onto the street where my home should be, I'm shocked by the presence of a completely foreign complex standing where my house once was.

Standing at the front gate of the building is Raynare, glancing around and looking worried out of her mind.

I walk up to the building, my footsteps drawing her attention.

"Ise, you're alive?" she shouts, looking both shocked and relieved at the same time.

"Did everybody think I was going to die? Glad to see you all hold me in such I esteem."

"Ise, I didn't-"

I hold up my hand.

"Joking, Ray. Just joking."

She sighs, relaxing her shoulders and lowering her head.

"Ise-san, " Asia pipes up from behind me, "she was obviously very worried about you; it's mean to joke about it."

"No, I'm used to it." Ray says. "It's just his style; when he doesn't know what to do, he tells bad jokes."

"But he always tells bad jokes." I hear Mittelt mumble.

"Bad jokes? I'll have you be aware that I'm the funniest guy I know!" I protest.

 **"Her point exactly."** Ddraig says aloud.

"Did anybody ask you?" I yell at my arm; obviously looking completely insane to Asia, who had no idea of the situation.

"Um… Mittelt-san, why is Ise-san talking to his arm?" She asks.

"Well-" Mittelt says.

"It's a long story, I'll explain it later." I interject.

Stepping up to Raynare, I shoulder past her and check out my new home.

"Is he inside?" I ask.

She nods, stepping to my side an opening the door.

"You know, I asked for a house, not this." I call into the building. "Azazel-san, do you need another lesson in architecture?"

"Consider this a way of absolving the rest of my debts." A voice calls back from within the house.

"Well, I appreciate the sentiment; but this might be a little bit too much." I say as I enter the house.

Coming into the den, I see Azazel lounging on the sofa and drinking from a glass of sake.

"I mean seriously," I say. "What did you even put in to make it this big?"

"There are maps in the kitchen." He replies nonchalantly, sipping from his glass.

The rest of my peerage enters the room. Upon seeing my guest, Kalawarner and Mittelt bow deeply; Asia, however, remains standing and looks at me very confused.

"Ise-san, who is this man?"

"Asia, this is Azazel. Governor General of the Fallen Angels, and my adoptive father; Again, long story."

She looks shocked for a moment before bowing like the other two.

"You guys know you don't have to bow to him, right?" I say, turning back around and pouring myself a drink.

"What the hell do you mean?" Kalawarner snaps. "He's our leader!"

I turn around and stare at her looking incredibly condescending.

"Oh my, it seems you forgot one teensy-little-but-ever-so-important-detail." I say in a sing-song voice.

"And that is?"

"I own you!" I shout, creating a wall of flames behind me.

At this they all back up, Asia even going so far as to hide behind Kalawarner. All of them look absolutely terrified.

"Wow." I say while rubbing the back of my head. "I guess none of you have seen Hercules."

They just stare at me.

"Just forget that ever happened; it was a failed attempt at a really bad joke."

"I'm just surprised that you didn't burn the house down." Azazel says.

"Please, like I'd ever let that happen. Do you have any idea what I would do if I accidently destroyed this place?"

They all just stare at me.

"Well, nothing really. I'd probably just call in another favor to have it rebuilt."

 **"You'll have to excuse him, he's really thrown off guard by what's going on."** Ddraig says.

"Anyway, " I say, trying to divert attention from the truth of Ddraig's statement. "It's getting pretty late, so you two had better get going. Azazel, I bet there's a pile of paperwork for you back at the bureau. You know, because of the two rebels I took care of."

He grimaces.

"Yeah, I'm not letting that one go either." I continue to drive in the verbal stiletto. "I mean, what kind of leader needs somebody from a _different faction_ to take care of some rabble-rousers?"

"The kind who knows somebody who's obsessed with vengeance." He snipes back.

I clench my fists and scowl.

 **"You walked right into that one, partner."** Ddraig tells me.

" _Not now, Ddraig."_ I hiss mentally.

"I think it's time for you to leave." I growl aloud.

"Actually, Ise…" Raynare stutters as she walks towards me. "I-I was wondering if I could stay with you, seeing as how you have so much room now."

I roll my eyes.

"Fine, but don't expect anything too different from when we were kids."

She joins the rest of the girls while Azazel teleports away.

"Well," I say, clapping my hands and heading to the kitchen to pick up a map. "It's been a long day, and I still haven't recovered fully from the other night; so I'm just going to head off to bed. If you don't know where something is, don't ask me; I know just about as much as the rest of you. I'll be up in the master if anybody needs me."

I walk up three flights of stairs, open the doors to the master bedroom, and collapse on the bed already asleep.

* * *

AN: This took a lot longer than I wanted it to. I know it sounds like excuses and everything, but I had this (and more) written about a week ago. Then, in accordance with Murphy's law (Anything that can go wrong will), my laptop crashed and corrupted my hard drive. School starts back on Monday, so I'm going to be pretty busy (as I said previously) with my job; and thus I won't be able to promise any dates for future uploads. But I promise you that I'm not anywhere near finished, it'll just be a while in between chapters.

As always, let me know what you think and what you'd like to see in the future.


	13. Chapter 12

I stand by helplessly as I watch an entire city burn. Women and children scream, crying out for a savior; but knowing full well that nobody will come. Smoke obsucres the night sky, the dust of collapsing buildings float in the air. I run into the city, attempting to pull out any survivors that I can find. Scanning the city, I locate the energy signatures of several humans and Asia huddled inside a subway station, Asia appears to be attempting to heal the wounded.

 _'Ddraig, give me a report!'_ I shout mentally.

No response.

' _Ddraig!"_

I reach the entrance to the subway, only to find the doorway blocked by the rubble of a fallen building.

"Damn, I don't have time for this!" I yell as I crush the obstruction and create a hole large enough for me to enter.

Stepping through, the scenery around me changes.

I'm now standing in the middle of a field in the underworld; facing an army of devils and fallen angels.

"You'll pay for what you did to my family!" I shout, apparently I'm unable to control my actions.

' _Ddraig, what's going on? I need a report!'_ I panic.

The man leading the army takes off his helmet. I find myself staring into the blue eyes of Sirzechs Lucifer.

"Issei!" He calls out. "Nobody is more upset about this than you are; but it wasn't easy for any of us! Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to kill my own sister?!" His voice cracks. "Please, calm down! It was nescessary for the survival-"

I cut him off by hurling a fireball straight at his head.

He dodges just in the nick of time, but I still managed to singe some of his hair.

"Nescessary? Screw you and your nescessary!" I scream, forming another fireball in my hands. "How dare you even speak of them! They were completely uninvolved! Because of your inability to accept the blame for your mistakes, I've lost my family a _second_ time!" I hurl a fireball at the army, causing an explosion on impact the wipes out the left wing of the front rank.

"Issei, if you continue to attack, we well be forced to take lethal action." Azazel calls out from above.

"You shut the hell up!" I yell, throwing yet another fireball. "They were innocent! Do you really think that Asia would have it in her heart to betray us? Or Koneko? Or Kalawarner? Or anybody else that you slaughtered?"

Sirzechs raises his arm, giving the signal to prepare for an attack.

"Issei, I didn't want to do this; but you've forced my hand." He sighs. "All units, attack with no mercy!"

The army charges at me as I activate my balance breaker and shoot a firebolt directly into the front rank.

The fight wages on for twenty minutes before I'm overwhelmed. I fall to my knees, covered in both my blood and the blood of countless devils and fallen angels. There's a hole the size of an orange in my stomach, and the armor protecting my head has completely shattered. A scratch runs down the left side of my face, while it's not very deep, it went far enough to blind me in my left eye. My hair, usually sticking up at odd angles, is now stuck to my head with a mixture of blood and sweat. Sirzechs stands over me, a sphere of destruction energy formed in his hand.

"I'm sorry that it had to come to this." He says.

I cough up blood.

"I'm not."

He unleashes the destruction energy upon me.

line

My eyes snap open as I bold upright in bed covered in a cold sweat.

 _'Ddraig, what the hell was that?'_ I ask.

 **"I believe it's commonly refered to as a nightmare."** He responds.

 _"No, that was too real to be a nightmare."_

 **"Then perhaps it was an omen for things to come.** "

 _'Let's hope not, that was pretty grim.'_

 **"Agreed."**

The sheets rustle on the bed next to me, and I look down to see Asia looking up at me.

"Ise-san, is something the matter? You looked like you where having a nightmare." She says, looking worried out of her mind.

"No, don't worry about it, Asia." I reply automatically. "Wait, what are you doing in my bed?"

"Well…" She starts blushing "I could hear you shouting downstairs, and I was worried, so I came up to check on you."

"Well, I'm fine. Just a little nightmare, nothing I haven't handled before." I joke.

"Are you sure you're alright, Ise-san? You sounded like it was terrible!"

"I'm fine, Asia." I say as I push the sheets back.

"Asia?"

"Yes, Ise-san?"

"Where are my clothes?"

* * *

After my peerage gathers in the dining room, I step in carrying trays of food for each of them.

I set down the foot at each person's respective seat and then take my own at the head of the table.

"Ise-san, why aren't you eating?" Asia asks, slightly concerned.

I begin to chuckle.

"It's a bit gruesome, are you sure that you want me to tell the story?" Everybody looks at me in rapt attention.

"I'll take that as a yes, then." I say after a few seconds of silence.

"It was about two years ago, and I was doing a job in Amsterdam. Basically, a third party asked me to keep an eye on a team of exorcists from the church. Everything seemed to be going fine; that is until the third night. They were attacked by a group of devils and I had to step in to do my job. I jumped in to back them up, but I guess my senses were a little bit off at the moment" I say, gritting my teeth and punching the back of my hand. "And one of the two exorcists attacked me from behind."

"That's horrible!" Asia gasps, dropping her chopsticks.

"Not really, " I say "I didn't exactly tell them that I was there to help, so it's only natural that she would take offensive action against me. Espescially when the two of them were under attack by a group of devils. Long story short, she took out about half of my stomach, and it didn't regenerate properly, so I tend to have a bit of a hard time eating."

Everybody at the table sheepishly puts their chopsticks back on the table and lowers their heads, Raynare even tries to push her bowl away.

"Oh, relax!" I say, laughing my head off. "I'm just messing with you. I'm just not that hungry, and you know how I can't resist a bad joke!"

"So, that was all a lie?" Asia asks, still concerned.

"Actually, everything up to the point of my stomach not regererating was more or less true."

 **"And we agreed that we'd** ** _never_** **speak about it!"** Ddraig shouts aloud, sounding both furious and a tad embarassed.

"Pay no mind to the talking lizard." I quip.

"Anyway" I say, clapping my hands and standing up, "It's about time we make a descision about your future, Ray. Where would you like to talk this over?"

She stands up.

"What do you mean?"

"Well isn't it obvious?" I snort "We should probably have a talk about whether or not you're going to stay here; and maybe make a few… other arangements."

"Let's go to the sitting room, then." She says, turning and heading out the door.

* * *

Raynare lounges on a couch across from me, fiddling with a cushion that was lying around. Sitting in an armchair across from her, I begin to speak.

"So, I'll just be blunt." I tell her. "I really don't care what you do."

She hugs the pillow tight, looking hurt.

"Don't take that the wrong way; I just don't think that it's my place to tell you what to do or anything. I mean, I'm definitely not going to object to you sticking around if you want; but the descision is entirely up to you."

She relaxes, letting out a breath that I can assume that she's been holding for over a minute.

"I…If it's alright with you, I'd like to stay here." She stutters.

"Well then, on to part two. Basically, I want you in my peerage. I'm not sure you remember, but back when we were kids, we talked about plans for the future. You said, and this might just be wishful thinking, that you wanted to be with me for as long as possible."

She blushes.

"And then you said no." She says.

"Wow, you really have a selective memory, don't you?" I chuckle. "I said not until I'd taken care of some business, and that business has been taken care of, so we're good to go. So, I'll ask again: Are you in?"

She nods, presumably unable to speak.

"Glad to hear it, I'm thinking that you'd make a good queen, any objections from you?"

She shakes her head.

"Great; and what about from our merry band of eavesdroppers?" I say, looking at the kitchen door with murderous intent.

"We're good!" Kalawarner shouts through the door.

"Glad to have your approval." I say dryly.

I stand up and use magic to open the door to the kitchen.

"Now then, it's about time that we head to school."

"School?" They ask in unison as they enter the room.

"You're all teenagers, so you're legally required to be in some form of education." I joke. "But in all seriousness, I think it'd be a good idea if you came with me just in case."

"You say that like something might happen." Mittelt says.

"From what I understand, there are two high class devils who have their peerages with them at Kuoh academy; now three counting us. I know that Rias won't have a problem with me, but I'm not sure about the others. If you think that human's can be prejudiced, just wait until you meet the devils." I chuckle.

"Are they really that bad?" Asia asks, stepping back and looking slightly afraid.

"Not all, but some are worse than others. Odds are, you'll have the misfortune of meeting some of the worse ones soon."

"What do you mean by that?" Kalawarner asks.

"Just forget about it, I'm just thinking out loud." I wave her off.

I turn and head up to my room. When I open my closet door to grab my clothes, I sense a presence.

"Why in my house, Sirzechs-sama?" I ask, adding a hint of sarcasm to his title.

"I thought I'd check up on you; we hardly ever get to talk these days."

"Look, I really appreciate the adoptive father thing from when I was a kid; but c'mon! I got it all under control now."

"Clearly." He says, sounding even more sarcastic than I do.

"Well, what is it? Want to help me with my homework, like old times? Have a catch?" I say, chuckling.

"You know full well why I'm here."

"So, you're still making her go through with it?"

"I don't have much of a say in it, politics and whatnot. But, I do have a plan to get her out of it."

"Well, this should be interesting." I sigh, walking over and plopping down in a chair.

* * *

By the time I get back downstairs , all of the girls are standing by and ready to go; and we're running behind.

"Sorry, I lost track of time." I say as I run down the stairs and towards the door. "We need to hurry, we still have to get you all registered in the system, and that might take a while."

We all rush out the door and hurry down the path to school. When we arrive at the gates of the school, I'm distinctly aware of the jealous stares of the other males in the school. When we get to the administrative wing of the school, I step into the office and have a few words with the admissions department, and I'd be lying if I said that there wasn't a bit of hypnotism involved. When I leave, I pass by a group of students who're presumably the student council. As I pass by the president, I duck my head and try to keep my face hidden.

"Hyoudou-kun, may I ask what exactly you're doing in my territory?"

"Aw, piss." I mumble. "Well, it's actually a funny story, and I'd be happy to tell you about it; but now is not the time nor the place. We'll discuss this later, Sona. Actually, I guess I should be calling you Kaichou now, shouldn't I?" I leave before she has any chance to respond.

* * *

AN: I really want to commend any of you that are students. Personally, if you manage to read this and keep up with school work, I'd be thoroughly impressed. I know for a fact that teachers aren't always lenient when it comes to assigning work, so it's pretty amazing that some students find a way to juggle school and writing together. And then there's me; I don't have to do homework, and I try to keep my grading load as minimal as possible; but I still have trouble making time to write new chapters! Carrying on with that, I'm not sure when I'll be able to finally get into a grove of upload scheduling (County policies are a pain in the ass); but rest assured that I still intend to keep this story going.

As always, if you have anything at all that you'd like to say about anything about the story, feel free to let me know. I'm always happy to listen to reader input and taking the story in a direction that you'd like to see. Thanks again for reading, and I'll (hopefully) have another chapter in by this time next month.


	14. Chapter 13

AN: Hello, and my apologies for the ridiculously lengthy delay. This is the longest chapter yet, as a way of making up for my absence.

This chapter is the official beginning of the ark involving Raiser Phenex. Seeing as there are multiple different spellings of his name, I went with Raiser (that's the most consistent one) for the first name and Phenex for the family name based off of the pronunciation in the anime.

Responses to Reviews:

 **DragonMaster128:** Here you go

 **Korog the Oversoul:** When you say tame, I'm assuming you're talking about the DxDness (for lack of a better term). I guess I have been a little light-handed with that, but I'm trying to make it less obvious. In the next few chapters, you'll see a lot more of it. As for the Raiser arc, it's coming (if this chapter isn't any indication), just not the way it did in the actual show. Also, Raiser is going to show that Issei isn't OP; as you said before, the only reason he appeared so before is because his opponents were weak or he had the jump on them. As for the freed thing, I just went a little overboard (I really don't like him).

 **TheLaughingStalk:** Glad that you like it, expect more soon.

* * *

I head to my classroom, telling the girls to wait outside the administrative department to pick up their schedules while I try desperately to escape Sona and her band of followers.

"Of course: she just has to be _here_ , of all places." I mumble to myself.

 **"Are you really surprised, partner?"** Ddraig asks, obviously enjoying my discomfort. **"You'll have to face her eventually, you know."**

"And when I do, I'll be ready to deal with her. But I'm not in the mood to put up with her right now!" I snap back.

"Well, I know you can't be talking about me. Right, Hyoudou-kun?" A woman snarls behind me.

"Gah, Sona! Don't sneak up on me like that! And drop the '-Kun', I'm ten years older than you!"

"Afraid not, Hyoudou-kun. I'm your student council president, thus a certain amount of formalities must be observed." She replies, pulling her short black hair away from her face. "Now, Hyoudou-kun: would you mind telling me why you're in my territory?"

"Actually, Kaichou" She grimaces. "I'm pretty sure I had claim to Kuoh before either you or Rias. If anything, I'd like to ask what you're doing in _my_ territory."

I lean back against the wall while she sighs.

"Anyway," I continue, "Bygones be bygones. I'm here to take care of a job, and I've decided I'm going to stay once I'm done."

"What kind of job are you doing?"

"Sorry, that's classified. Client confidentiality and whatnot."

She scowls.

"Hyoudou-kun, if you're taking on a potentially dangerous job in my territory-"

"My territory"

"-then I think that I have a right to know what the nature of your assignment is."

"Again, that's classified. Let's just say that I'll be starting a flame war of sorts."

Realization dawns on her face.

"You don't mean…"

"I was going to do it even if I wasn't hired to. That little chicken needs to be brought down a peg."

I push her aside and continue onwards to class.

"No, if you'll excuse me, Kaichou, I need to get to class."

* * *

Sitting in my classroom, the class girls all surround my desk before class starts.

"Hyoudou-kun" one of them says, "I saw you talking with Shitori-san earlier today, did you do something wrong?"

After hearing this, the girls around the room start to whisper amongst themselves; spreading rumors that could potentially be dangerous.

"No, not at all. Shitori-san's family and mine have been… business partners for a while, so we know each other. I was just letting her know I was in the neighborhood."

"Oh, well that's nowhere near as interesting." Calls out one of the girls from the back of the group.

"Well, Kiryuu-san, I'm sorry to disappoint you; but I'm not very interesting as a person."

She pushes forward to the front of the group, and stares me up and down. I swear that her glasses flash when she passes over my crotch.

"Oh, Hyoudou, I'd say you're _very_ interesting." She says, her gaze seeming to drift south once again.

"I'm sorry, I don't follow."

"Well-"

Thankfully, the class representative calls out to us before Kiryuu can finish her thought.

"Everyone take your seats, class is about to begin."

The girls break up their gathering and sit down at their respective desks.

"Stand. Bow. Be seated."

The teacher nods to the class representative before speaking.

"Before I take role, I have an announcement to make. We have two new students joining our class." He turns towards the door. "You two can come in now."

The door opens, and two familiar faces stride into the room.

"My name is Asia Argento."

"And I'm Amano Yuuma."

Asia steps forward.

"I'm still new to this country, but I'm glad to meet you."

The perverted duo shout out from the back of the room.

"A blonde beauty!"

"Bust, 82. Waist, 55. Hip, 81. Fantastic!"

I stand up and turn around.

"Will you two shut up?! Show some respect!" I shout before realizing what I'd done. "Oh, my apologies, sensei." I bow and sit down.

"I'm currently living with Hyoudou Issei-san." She finishes, causing an uproar from the entire classroom.

"Hyoudou-kun is living with another girl?!"

"She's trying to steal him from us!"

And, "How dare she!" were all common responses, but the perverted duo decided to take it a step further.

Next thing I knew, the bald one was grabbing the collar of my shirt while the one with glasses was digging his elbow into my back.

"Explain! Why are you living with a blonde beauty?" The bald one shouts.

"Why do you get all these chances?!"

I elbow glasses in the stomach, not hard enough to cause any damage; but still enough to get my point across.

"Get the hell off of me!" I shout.

"Amano-san, where do you live?" one of the girls asks, and I pray to every figure that'll take me that she'll have more tact than Asia.

"Actually, I live with Ise as well." Guess not.

* * *

Once the very eventful day of class was over, Asia, Raynare, and I went to the Occult Research Club room in the old school building to take care of business.

Apparently, we were the last ones to arrive, as everybody else was lounging on couches around the room.

"Well, at least we don't have to wait for anybody else. Mittelt, Kalawarner, I assume things went well with you two?" I say, walking over and standing beside Rias at her desk.

"Nothing happened with us, but I did hear some rather interesting rumors about you building a harem." Kalawarner says, reclining back on the couch.

"I heard the same thing, you must be quite the pervert." Mittelt says, deciding to continue teasing me.

"Why do you think the boosted gear manifests on my left hand?" I quip back, playing with the ruse.

"Ara Ara, Ise-kun. I had no clue you were so dirty." Akeno drapes herself across my back, wrapping her arms around my shoulders.

"You're just the same as always, aren't you, Akeno-san?" I say, extricating myself from her arms and standing on Rias' other side.

"Oh, do you want me to change?" She asks, giving me a seductive stare. "I'll change in to anything you want me to."

Rias clears her throat. "Ise, we still need to talk about contracts."

"Oh, I completely forgot about that. You have an idea about what I do, right?"

Everybody in the room except the former fallen angels shake their heads.

"Well, and here I thought you knew me. I'm pretty much a mercenary. I mainly run jobs for faction leaders or high ranking officials. And the nature of each job often varies, I'll do hit jobs, body guarding, search and seizure; basically anything. And that's why jobs are not a problem. My peerage won't be pulling from Kuoh or the surrounding area, I'll just give them the jobs that my old clients requested. I'm in the middle of a job right now, anyway; so I'll be pretty busy for about a month anyway."

"Senpai, what kind of job are you on?" Koneko asks, shuffling forward to grab a box of chocolates I'd left on the table as I walked in.

"Sorry, Koneko-chan. My client requested that I don't disclose the nature of the operation until I'm taking action."

I walk over to the door and prepare to the room.

"Well, I need to go meet with an old friend of mine, so I've got to go. Girls, don't wait for me back at the house, I think I'll be pretty late."

* * *

I teleport to the base of a high-rise apartment building on the edge of the downtown area. Looking around, I see that the street's empty, which strikes me as rather odd considering it's the middle of the afternoon. Shrugging it off, I head inside and climb the stairs to the penthouse. I knock on the door and call in.

"Hello, I've got the kielbasa you ordered."

"You've been watching porn again, haven't you?" A masculine voice calls back.

The door opens, and I'm greeted by Azazel, governor-general of the fallen angels, as well as my adoptive father.

"Well, I was raised by you, wasn't I. Was there any other way I'd turn out? Besides, I'm a twenty-seven year old man; I can do whatever the hell I want to."

"Well, you've got me there. Oh, where are my manners? Come in, come in!" He says, stepping aside and beckoning me through the door.

I grab a bottle of sake and sit down on the couch. Pulling the stopper off the bottle with my teeth, I pour both him and myself a glass.

"So," I say after taking a swig from my drink, "about what happened at the church the other night…"

"They were rogue, and as such there are no consequences for you executing them. Besides, it's not like _you'd_ be the one to instigate a war between devils and fallen. And, frankly, I can't blame you for wanting to kill them after what they did to you."

He takes a deep draft of his drink, emptying the glass.

"Speaking of which, what are you going to do now? Before, all you did was look for leads on those two; but now that they're dead, everybody's wondering what your next move is."

"You know," I say, leaning back on his couch, "I didn't really think that one through very well. I think I'm going to try to have a normal childhood; I didn't really get a chance at one before, you know? I'm also going to start building up a peerage; technically, after all, I _am_ the head of one of the pillar families. Though how that happened, I'm still not sure."

"It's because of your mother, I'll bet. She was next in line, and then she was killed; so that leaves the position to you, half-breed or not."

"Though, to be honest" I chuckle, "I'm pretty sure that the other pillar families are happier with me out of the picture."

Azazel laughs at that one, but I think it's more the alcohol than anything else.

"And since when have you ever cared about making anybody happy?"

"You'd be surprised, pops. You'd be surprised."

"By the way, there's news that might interest you."

"Do tell."

"Well first off, Vali's back from training, and he's gunning for you."

"Hah, I welcome him to try."

"And secondly, I've received word from some intel networks that Kokabiel might be going rogue."

"What is with you and controlling your subordinates? All you ever seem to ask me to do is take care of some rogue that you let slip through your fingers."

"I'll blame that one on the sake and give you a pass, but don't push it. I don't think I need to remind you how close the three factions are to a permanent state of peace; and that the smallest think could throw off those plans."

"Look, I can't make any promises, but I'll keep my eyes out, okay? And if he makes a move, I'll see what I can do to stop him. But I still think that he's a little bit out of my league."

"Oh, admitting that you can't handle it?"

"You know what, you said that Vali's done training. Why not let that little prick handle Kokabiel, if he can take a ten wing alone, he can take me for sure."

"You know how Vali gets about orders. I swear, sometimes he's just as bad as you."

"I guess I'll have to try harder, then."

I stand up to leave, checking the time I see that it's already late in the evening.

"Well," I say "It's been fun, pops. But there's a sale at the supermarket that I don't want to miss starting in a few hours, so I'll see you around."

* * *

By the time I arrive back at the house, it's already past eleven, but I can tell that all the girls waited up for me.

"You know, I really meant it when I said no to wait up." I called out as I walked through the door.

I set the bags from the supermarket down in the kitchen and walk into the sitting room to see my entire peerage sitting down on the couches.

"Next time, give us a little more information before you just run off like that." Mittelt says, idly filing her nails.

"Sorry, I was just doing some follow up for a job I just finished. Speaking of which, there's something I need you guys to take care of. I was just requested by a political leader in a certain international superpower, but I can't take the job because I'm in the middle of one right now. That's where you two come in, Kalawarner, Mittelt, this seems like it's something you'd enjoy. It's a standard suppression mission. So, are you in?"

The two of them nod.

"Great, I'll set you up a magic circle to D.C. tomorrow morning."

"D.C? You mean America?" Kalawarner asks, clearly surprised.

"Yeah, I don't know the full details, but I'm sure he'll tell you when you get there."

I turn to face Raynare.

"Now, Ray, I'm pretty sure that I haven't reincarnated you yet. And I'm guessing you want to get that done soon, right?"

She nods. I walk upstairs to my room, beckoning her to follow me.

When we arrive in my room, I gesture for her to take a seat on the bed.

"Ray, you're sure that you want to go through with this? I promise, no hard feelings if you decline."

"I swear it's like you don't want me to, Ise."

"Just making sure, I don't want you to regret this later on."

She lays down on the bed.

"Do it."

"If you say so." I mutter.

I conjure up a queen piece and place it on the center of her chest and begin to chant.

"I order, in my name Issei Hyoudou, you, Fallen Angel Raynare, Be reborn as a devil. You, my Queen, be delighted with your new life!"

The piece glows red and sinks into her chest, encompassing her prone form in a pulsating red aura.

She sits up, stretching her arms and cracking her back as she looks around the room.

"I don't feel any different, are you sure it worked?" She asks.

"Well, you're not dead; and you didn't reject the piece. So yeah, it worked." I say. "Now, if you'll excuse me, it's been a long day, and I'm going to bed. Lock the door on your way out, I don't want any disturbances."

I pull her up and push her towards the door before collapsing on the bed.

* * *

I wake up due to a bright red light that shines in my room. I try to sit up, but there's a large weight on my chest pinning me down. I open my eyes and find myself staring into the eyes of Rias Gremory.

"Rias, what the hell are you doing?"

"Issei, I need you to take my virginity!"

 _"What the hell's going on?"_ I think to myself.

"Hold on, Rias! What are you doing?"

"Ise, we don't have time! This is urgent!"

She starts to take off her school uniform. Unbuttoning her shirt, she steps forward and pushes me deeper into the bed. As she unzips her skirt, a second magic circle –This one silver- appears.

"Looks like I was too late." Rias sighs, obviously crestfallen.

"Rias-sama, I implore you to stop this foolishness at once!" A voice calls out from within the circle.

A woman materializes inside the magic circle once she finishes speaking. She steps out of the magic circle, her maid uniform (still not sure why she wears it) catching the light and drawing attention to her rather impressive bust.

"And with a commoner such as this; Master and Sirzechs-sama will be most depressed." She continues.

I push Rias off of me and sit up.

"Who the hell do you think you're talking about, Grayfia?" I snarl, summoning my boosted gear and glaring with murderous intent.

"Oh, my apologies, Issei-sama. I was unaware that it was you." She says, bowing deeply.

"Whatever. Now would somebody please tell me what's going on?!"

I unequip my gauntlet and stand up, standing in front of Rias in order to protect her from the maid.

"Grayfia, my chastity is my own to give. And I'll not stand for you to call _any_ of my friends a commoner." Rias says.

"Regardless, you are heiress apparent of the Gremory Family; and as maid of the house of Gremory, I cannot allow you to do this."

The maid picks up Rias clothes and drapes the shirt across Rias' shoulders.

"Now, Rias-sama," She says, "We must leave."

"Can I bring Akeno?" She asks.

"It is expected of upper class devils to have their queens with them at all times. Come now, we must be going. It was a pleasure to see you again, Issei-sama."

"Ise, I'm sorry about all this. Let's just call it quits for now, okay?"

The two of them leave via another magic circle.

" _Well, Ddraig, it looks like things are escalating faster than we'd planned._ " I think.

 **"It appears so, partner. Are you still going to follow the main plan?"** Ddraig responds.

 _"As far as I know. The party happening early doesn't really change anything."_

Somebody knocks on the door.

"Ise, is something wrong?" Raynare calls through the door.

"Yeah, little bit," I use magic to open the door. "Could you come in here, we need to have a talk."

* * *

The next morning was relatively uneventful. I sent Mittelt and Kalawarner to Washington through a magic circle, and Asia, Raynare and I went off to school. When we arrive at the school gate, the inevitable rumors begin to fly; mainly fueled by descriptions too vivid for even me to come up with, and I have a very active imagination.

After school ends, the three of us go to the clubroom. When we enter, I see Rias sitting behind her desk, looking incredibly depressed. Akeno stands next to her with her hand on Rias' shoulder, and Grayfia stands on Rias' other side. The girls sit down on a couch while I lean against the wall next to the door.

"Rias-buchou, is something the matter?" Asia asks.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Asia-chan. I'm just-"

Before Rias can finish speaking, a bright orange magic circle appears behind the desk. A man materializes to the sound of a screeching bird, and the bright glow of flames briefly engulf the room.

"Phenex." Kiba snarls, seeming uncharacteristically hostile.

The man steps out of the magic circle.

"Wow, it's been a while since I've been to the human world." The man says. He brushes the shoulders of his burnt-red jacket and wipes his hand through his hair. "Rias, my love, I've come to take you back."

"Who's that?" Asia asks, leaning in to Raynare.

"This is Raiser Phenex-sama, third son of the house of Phenex and Rias-sama's Fiancé." Grayfia says, hearing Asia's question.

Raiser and Rias sit on couch across from Asia, Raynare, and Koneko while Akeno brings them some tea.

"Rias' queen prepares such delicious tea!" Raiser says, taking a long drink from the cup.

"Thank you for the compliment." Akeno says, bowing. However, her tone and facial expression express her distaste of the man.

Raiser reaches over and commences to play with Rias' hair and fondle her thigh. I clench my fists and grit my teeth, attempting to hold back my anger.

Having had enough, Rias stands up.

"Cut it out already. I told you last time, Raiser, I have no intention of marrying you."

"But Rias, with your family's back to the wall like it is, you really can't afford to be this selfish."

"I'm not going to let my family down! I will take a husband; but when I do, he will be someone that _I_ want to be with."

"But Rias-"

"Don't make me say it twice, Raiser!"

Raiser stands up and grabs Rias' chin.

"You know, Rias, I am the face of the Phenex clan. I cannot have you sully my honor."

Having seen enough, I step forwards and clamp down on Raiser's shoulder.

"Listen here, you little shit." I snarl. "You may be the face of the Phenex family, but I'm the head of the Andromalius Clan. While you may think you have clout, I actually do!"

"H-Hyoudou?!" He gasps.

"That's _Lord_ Hyoudou, punk." I say, gripping even harder on his shoulder. "You say that Rias is 'sullying your honor'; but the way I see it, you have no honor to speak of! You talk big about being the 'face of the Phenex clan', but you're only the third son! All you are, and all you ever will be, is a little boy with a superiority complex." I tighten my grip as hard as I can, shattering the bones in his shoulder.

He screams in pain for a second until flames engulf his shoulder, the phoenix power he possesses healing the wound in no time flat.

"Gentlemen, please calm down. I am here on Sirzechs-sama's orders, and I do not intend to idly stand by."

"Well," I say, "If the Strongest Queen requests it, I guess I have no choice but to stand down." I remove my hand from Raiser's shoulder and step behind Rias.

"Sirzechs-sama predicted that this might happen, so I was instructed to carry out resort measures if no agreement is reached."

"What do you mean, Grayfia?" Rias asks, crossing her arms.

"If you will not change your position, then you're welcome to settle the issue via a rating game."

I step forwards again.

"I'm afraid not. Rias is not yet eligible to compete in rating games, and we devils _do_ love our traditions. She can't compete, so we'll have to find an alternative." I say.

"It can simply be an unofficial game." Raiser says, smirking at what he perceives to be his cleverness.

"Fine by me." Rias says, "We'll beat you any day."

"Beat me?" Raiser exclaims, "Assuming this is your peerage, you only have five! I have a full set." He snaps his fingers, and another magic circle – this one much larger – appears behind him. Inside the boundaries of the circle are fifteen girls.

"How can you hope to beat me when I have a full set?!" He cackles. "Yubelluna, come here."

An incredibly busty woman in an extremely revealing blue dress steps forward.

"Yes, Raiser-sama?"

"Tell me, Rias, are you willing to do _this_ with your servants?"

He brings Yubelluna into a very passionate kiss, her cheeks flush red and her breathing becomes ragged. Raiser begins to fondle Yubelluna's chest by reaching into the low cut neckline of her dress, and she begins to moan in ecstasy.

"That tears it! You son of a bitch!" I yell, launching forwards and punching him square in the jaw. The force of the punch sends him flying into the wall of the clubroom.

"You think it's honorable, accepting a fight you know you'll win? You think that doing what you just did _in front of your fiancée_ is befitting of 'the face of the house of Phenex'? And do you think that I would _ever_ allow Rias Gremory to be married to a piece of scum like you?" I roar. "Grayfia, tell Sirzechs-sama that there will be no rating game, I'm taking this bitch on myself."

Raiser pulls himself out of the wall.

"You think that you can just butt in on this?! This wedding is for the future of all high class devils!"

"No, sweety, that's where you're wrong." I say, stepping forward and grabbing him by the throat. "If this were just about high class devils, then there are a multitude of options she could take. No, this is about you fulfilling some twisted harem power fantasy!"

I release him and turn around.

"Let me know when you want to negotiate the details of our fight. I say we make things interested with a wager. Come talk to me when you're done recovering from that blow to your pride, you know where to find me." I walk towards the door. "Asia, Ray, we're leaving."

The two of them stand up and follow me out the door. We head downstairs when I tell the girls to stop.

"We're not actually leaving." I say, "I just wanted to make a grand exit. We'll wait down here until I feel him leave, and then I'll have to go back and sort things out with Rias. You two are welcome to go home if you want, though."

"Ise-san, that was really reckless! Right, Raynare-san?" Asia says.

"Yeah, Ise, do you have any idea how bad that could have been? Why didn't you let things play out?"

"Because Sirzechs-sama hired me to stop the wedding, and this is the fastest way I know how."

They both look at me in shock before Raynare breaks the silence.

"So _this_ is the job you were talking about earlier."

"Yep, Sirzechs-sama is just as opposed to this wedding as I am, if not more. He asked me to come between them, and I was more than happy to do so."

"What are you looking at in terms of payment?" Raynare asks.

"Actually, I'm doing this for free; more or less."

"Really, how unlike you." Raynare says, smirking.

"Well, to tell you the truth, I've always wanted to beat the snot out of that little bastard, and now I'm legally sanctioned to do it. I call it a win-win. Oh, he's gone now. We can go back up."

We go back upstairs to find Rias once again sitting at her desk, glaring straight at the door.

"Issei, what were you thinking?" Rias shouts

"Which part are you mad about?" I ask, rubbing the back of my head.

"The entire thing! You just attacked a member of the Phenex clan, imagine the ramifications that this could have!"

"Actually, I outrank him. And even then, I was just doing my job."

Rias and her peerage look at me in shock.

"You think it's your job to protect me?" Rias yells, "I'm perfectly capable of handling myself."

"Rias, that's not what I meant." I explain, "It actually was my job, literally. I was hired by Sirzechs-sama to make sure that this wedding didn't go through. But, in all honesty, I would have stopped him anyway, even if I wasn't hired."

Rias clenches her fists.

"Senpai, is that what you were talking about yesterday?" Koneko asks, looking up at me.

"Yeah, pretty much." I move over to the couch where she's sitting and plop down next to her. Before I know it, she's climbed her way into my lap.

"K-Koneko-Chan, what are you doing?"

"Claiming my spot." She says her answer so matter-of-factly that it catches us all off-guard.

Deciding to play along, I start to idly stroke her hair while I talk with Rias.

"Anyway, sorry about the rating game, but you're just not ready for it yet. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see you go up against him, but you just can't do it yet. He's got a massive numerical advantage over you, and he's seasoned on the battlefield. I thought that going along with my plan would make it a lot simpler."

"I understand that, but what kind of wager are you going to make to entice him into playing along?"

"Well, this is where the difficult part comes in. All I need is your permission to offer you up if I lose."

"Offer me up?" She snarls, "I'm not some item to be passed around!"

Koneko tenses up on my lap.

"Sorry, poor choice of words. No matter what the competition is, if we lose, then you have to marry him, that's what I'm trying to say. I just need your permission to say that when I make the wagers with the Yakitori."

"Yakitori?"

"It's his new nickname, I think it fits."

"Whatever. Do you think that you can win?" She asks, trying to suppress a grin.

"Honestly, there's a sixty five percent chance I'll win, assuming there aren't any unknown variables. But even so, sixty five is better than sixty; right?" I pause to conjure up a box of candy and place it in Koneko's lap.

"I guess so, but I still don't like you taking this in my place." Rias says, frowning.

"I get that, but I've wanted to clobber this guy for years; so it's not just for your sake. So, are you in?"

"Fine, just promise me you won't lose."

"My pride as a mercenary won't allow it." I say grinning.

The club stays like that for a while, just sitting around and talking. Akeno has to leave to take a request, and Raynare decides to head home soon after.

When everybody leaves, I lean in and whisper in Koneko's ear.

"Do you think we could talk a bit?"

She nods.

I motion for her to get off of my lap and stand up.

"Well, Rias, I'm heading home. I'll see you tomorrow." I say as I head out the door.

I wait in front of the building for about fifteen minutes before Koneko shows up.

"So, Senpai, what did you want to talk about?" She asks, looking a little bit worried.

"Let's walk for a bit, there's a lot we need to discuss."

I take her hand and lead her out of the school.

"It's about the fight, isn't it?" She asks.

"Afraid so. Remember what I told you before I went after Asia at the church?"

She nods.

"Well," I say, rubbing the back of my head with my free hand "It's pretty much the same thing. Raiser is probably one of the strongest people I've had to fight, and it's highly unlikely that I'll come out unscathed, or even alive." She tightens her grip on my hand.

"Please, Senpai, don't talk like that." She's crying now "Please! I can't stand the thought of losing you! I love-"

"No, you don't." I interrupt. "I know you think you do, but you really don't. All you're doing is relating me to your sister." She gasps. "Look, I know how you're feeling right now, but all you're doing is linking the feelings of abandonment caused by Kuroka to me. You don't love me, you're just latching onto the similarities between us."

"S-Senpai." She whispers.

"Don't misunderstand, Koneko-chan. I have nothing against you, I actually kind of like you, too. But it's because of that that I can't stand to see you deluding yourself like this."

She lets go of my hand.

"Look, I might be wrong; but I don't think I am. Here's what you should do. Separate yourself from me for the next two days. Use that time to think about what _I_ mean to you, not how alike I am to your sister. If you can honestly say that she's not the cause of your feelings, then I have no problem with continuing further than the way things are now; but you need to sort your feelings out first."

She walks away slowly with her head down, and I'm pretty sure I can hear her crying.

" _Ddraig, was that a mistake?_ " I ask through the mental link.

 **"I'm not entirely sure. Romantic matters aren't my strong suit, but I do think you could have gone easier on her."** He replies.

" _I guess so. I just hope I didn't screw this up irreparably."_

I sigh.

"Looks like it's going to be a long night." I mumble to nobody in particular.

* * *

AN: I'm back!

Sorry about the 3 month delay, I really feel like crap for that. Worst part is, I don't even have an excuse for it. As a way to make it up to you all, I put out the longest chapter yet.

I've gotten back into a groove, and I'm able to upload more frequently than before (I really mean it this time!), so you can expect more chapters to come along. Apparently, some people thought that I'd stopped this story, so I'm just going to clear something up. If I do decide to stop this story prematurely (I probably won't), I will let you know in a final update. Otherwise, just assume that I'm trying to build suspense or something.

As always, if you have anything that you'd like to see, feel free to let me know, and I'll take it into consideration. Also, feel free to leave any feedback (good, bad, or ugly [yes, I went there]), I really appreciate it when people tell me what they think.


	15. Chapter 14

AN: Hello there, I'll save the substantial stuff for the end. So just read and enjoy!

* * *

I walk along the street back to my house. It's not yet dark, but the lengthening shadows tell me that it will be soon.

" _Ddraig, did I make a mistake?"_ I ask, unable to stop worrying about Koneko.

 **"There's no telling. As I told you earlier, you could have been gentler on her; but it had to be done."** He replies.

 _"Did it really, though? Did you see the look on her face? She was absolutely crushed!"_

 **"Ignorance is not always bliss, partner."**

 _"But even still, did she really need to know right now? All things considered, I might die before she can decide on an answer!"_

 **"You need to calm down, you won't be able to fight at optimal levels with your mental state like this."**

 _"Is that all you can think about? Me being able to fight? Don't you care about anybody other than us?! Do you have any idea how much pain Koneko-Chan might be in right now?"_

 **"You're no good to her dead."** He says, shutting me up.

Before I can come up with a proper response, I arrive at my house. I cast out my senses and detect two energy sources inside the living room.

 _"It looks like they don't like wasting time."_

 **"You're ready for this, then?"**

 _"Well, I'm as ready as I'll ever be. We'll continue this discussion later."_

I step through the door and call out into the house.

"If you'd let me know you were coming, I could have made some nice hors d'oeuvres; maybe a cheese platter and some wine."

I walk into the sitting room to see Raiser reclining on a couch as Grayfia stands across from him.

"Thank you, Issei-Sama, but that won't be necessary." Grayfia says, bowing deeply.

"Well, Phenex, let's get down to brass tacks."

"Why are you opposed to this, Hyoudou? If the Gremory clan and the Phenex clan combine forces, it could mean a new future for devilkind! Rias needs to marry a member of a pillar family, and that's me."

"Shut the hell up, Raiser. I said so before and I'll say so again. If this was about the continuation of the pillars, then she's got more options than just you. Hell, she's even got me to choose from!"

I sit down on the couch.

"Do not mistake this for a ploy to get Rias to myself," I say, leaning forwards and glaring at him. "I am merely trying to keep Rias from being forced into a marriage that she obviously detests."

"You're just a thief, trying to take the benefits of the Gremory name." He snarls.

"No, yakitori, that would be you. I'm the head of my family, and I _am_ one of the seventy-two pilliars. If I wanted to take the glory of a high-class family, I'd be going after somebody who actually had power, and wasn't just a measly heiress."

"What did you just call me?!"

"Yakitori. Haven't you heard of it? It's traditional food of this country. The closest equivalent would be fried chicken. Sound familiar?"

He slams his fist down on the coffee table between us and jumps to his feet.

"I will not allow this insult to go unchecked!" He shouts.

"Gentlemen, please. We have business to discuss." Grayfia says, stepping forwards and shooting me a death glare.

"He started it." I mumble under my breath.

"On to business." She says. "Put your petty squabble aside and do your business."

"Right." I say, reclining onto the couch and resting my hands behind my head. "I say we establish some ground rules for the fight."

Raiser and Grayfia nod.

"Well then, Rule number one: The match will end when one of us either resigns or is unable to continue. This includes the death of a combatant."

They give no response, but Grayfia looks at me rather concerned.

" Rule number two: There will be no use of phoenix tears during the fight."

"Stop right there!" Raiser shouts angrily.

"Just hear me out. You and everybody in your peerage have some level of regenerative capabilities that come from being a member of the Phenex clan. If anything, this is a hindrance to me, not to you."

He nods, finally understanding my reasoning.

"Rule number three: In the event that combatant does perish, it will be considered a casualty of battle and the surviving combatant will not be held with criminal charges. Should a combatant be mortally injured, but not killed, the match will be called and the Phenex clan will be expected to provide aid in the form of Phoenix tears and save the injured combatant."

"Do you really think that there is a potential for death?" Grayfia asks.

"I don't intend to surrender." I say, glaring at Raiser and cracking my knuckles menacingly. "I'm going to fight until I am physically unable to."

"And I don't intend to be beat by a weakling like _that._ " Raiser sneers.

"We'll see." Grayfia says, looking rather somber.

"Rule number four: No people may enter the combat arena outside of people agreed upon by the two combatants."

"Rule number five: All of the previously mentioned rules must be upheld under any circumstance. Failure to follow the rules will result in an immediate loss for the offender, as well as a monetary penalty to said rule-breaker."

The two give no response.

"Rule number six: Any and all bets made on the fight by the two involved parties must be upheld, no matter the nature of the wager."

"I thought that that was obvious." Raiser says, conjuring a glass of alcohol and downing it in a single gulp.

"Well then, why don't we make some wagers?"

"I'm interested. What do you have in mind?" He asks, leaning forward.

"I've been thinking it over, and I came up with three options for you, each option has a varying degree of risk involved; and the greater the risk, the greater the reward. Option one: We do a rating game. Your peerage versus mine. If I win, the engagement is called off, and you do one favor for me unconditionally. If you win, it's practically the opposite. The engagement continues, and you get one favor from me unconditionally."

He nods.

"Option number two: One on One. You versus me and me alone. Nobody else is allowed in the arena under any circumstance. If I win, the engagement is called off, and you give me one piece from your peerage at any time I see fit. You can choose who, but I choose when. If you win, you gain the allegiance of me and my peerage. I still take jobs from outside clients, but a portion of all profits go to you, and you have partial control over my actions."

He smirks, obviously he's imagining me at his beck and call while Asia and Raynare are forced to service his every whim. I clench my fists and grit my teeth, glaring daggers at him.

"Option number three: This has the least risk for you, but also the least reward. Your entire peerage versus me alone. I am permitted one phoenix tear – provided that I can buy one before the match – and I have no restrictions on my combat actions. If you win, the _only_ thing you get is the engagement to go through; _but_ if _I_ win, the engagement is called off, and I gain full control over you and your peerage. So, what's it going to be?"

He reclines on the couch and closes his eyes.

"Raiser, the girls will be home soon; would you please hurry it up?" I ask, letting a little malice slip into my tone.

"Fine. I choose option two. I hope you're ready to be destroyed." He says, sitting up and looking as cocky as ever.

"Tell you what, when I win, I'll treat you to some modest clothes." I say.

I turn to look at Grayfia.

"I trust you'll be passing this information on to Sirzechs-sama?"

She nods.

"Well then, that only leaves one piece of business left. When do you want to do this, Raiser?"

Grayfia clears her throat and begins to speak.

"Sirzechs-sama has requested that the fight take place in two day, so that he has enough time to arrange proper media coverage."

"All the better." Raiser says, "Now there will be no living down the shame of your defeat."

"Wow, big talk from an overgrown chicken." I snarl. "Now, Raiser, would you kindly get out of my house. The girls will be home soon, and I'd rather you give me time to get rid of your stench."

He scoffs before conjuring a magic circle and teleporting out of the room in a blast of fire. Thankfully, on the part of either luck or design, he didn't scorch the floor as he left.

"Issei-sama," Grayfia says, moving in front of me and pulling out a slip of paper. "Sirzechs-sama told me that if you do lose this fight, then he will provide a way for you and Rias-sama to leave before the ceremony."

"Sorry, Grayfia, part of the bet is that the wedding goes through if I lose; so I'm obligated to ensure nothing gets in the way."

She gasps before glaring at me.

"And you decided to gamble Rias-Sama's future on the chance that you'd win?!" She snarls.

"Wow, angry. Never thought I'd see that side of you, Grayfia. Don't worry, I've got a plan. If I do lose, you needn't worry, because a corpse isn't much use for stopping anything. But I'm not going to lose, so rest easy."

She calms down slightly.

"You sound arrogant; though I suppose that's to be expected of you."

"Now what's that supposed to mean? Me? Arrogant? Where did you ever come up with that?" I ask jokingly.

"Be careful, Issei-sama. If anything happened to you, Rias-sama would be rather depressed. You mean more to her than you think. Now, I must be going, please excuse me." Before I can respond to her very odd statement, she teleports away.

 _"What did she mean by that?"_ I think to myself.

 **"You really are clueless, aren't you?"** Ddraig says, once again butting into my private thoughts.

 _"The hell is that supposed to mean?"_

 ** _"Hopeless, absolutely hopeless."_**

 _"No. Answer the question!"_

 **"It was the same thing with the cat. You're completely oblivious to other people's feelings."**

 _"Are you implying that Rias is actually romantically interested in me?"_

 **"Have you seen any evidence to the contrary?"** He sounds more smug than usual.

 _"Have you seen any proof?"_ I reply, trying to turn the argument around.

 **"I've said so before that romance isn't my specialty, but you must be blind to not see how she acts around you. Think back to your raid on the church, and pay attention this time. She was obviously worried about you, why else would she mobilize her entire peerage to help you?"**

 _"Just because she came to help doesn't mean that she actually cares. What good leader wouldn't attempt to take out a threat in their territory?"_

 **"Sometimes I wish you were raised like a normal human, you'd be much more sensitive to these sorts of things. When you were torturing Kunopegos, it obviously hurt her to watch."**

 _"Are you saying that I should have just let him go? Just to make_ somebody else _happy?!"_

 **"Not in the slightest. He deserved what you did to him, but you're missing my point. If she didn't care about you, she wouldn't have tried to stop you."**

 _"I…"_

 **"Understand now?"**

 _"You make some good points, sure; but that alone doesn't prove that you're right. If she really does feel that way about me, I'll be able to find out after the match."_

 **"I guess that's all you can really do, isn't it?"**

 _"Yes, now go back to sleep. I've got things I want to do, and I could do without an interruption"_

I leave the living room and go into the kitchen. As I open the refrigerator door to pull out a drink, the door opens and Raynare and Asia come in.

"We're home!" They both call out.

Judging by footsteps, the lighter of the two – probably Asia – Goes upstairs while the other comes into the kitchen to talk with me.

"I smell smoke," Raynare says, sitting down at the counter behind me. "the Phoenix was here?" without turning around. I nod.

"And what exactly did he have to say?"

I turn around and slide her a glass of tea while I begin to explain the rules and bets. Once I finish, she slams her glass down on the table and glares at me.

"Let me get this straight." She growls. "You decided to bet _us_ , as in our freedom and autonomy, if you lose."

"Don't worry; I'm not going to lose. And even if I do, I'll just let you free before I go over to his side. I don't have any intention of letting him get is greedy little claws into you."

"And what are you going to do if he kills you?" she asks, incredibly worried.

"If I die, then you're automatically free. I said that he gets my peerage, and if I'm dead, then I don't have a peerage. I thought it all out; even though I'm not going to lose."

"Just... Just don't die, okay? I don't care if you surrender, just don't die."

"Ray, you don't need to worry about me. I've got plans; and if anybody's going to die, then it's going to be him."

She reaches across the counter and grabs my hand in both of hers.

"Ise, don't be reckless. We've said it before, but we really don't want you to die. If something happens, I… I just don't know what I would do!" She says, blushing and sounding more emotional than I've heard in years.

 _"Her too?"_ I ask Ddraig.

 **"He can be taught!"** He replies in confirmation.

 _"Shit."_

"Ise? You zoned out there for a second. You feeling okay?"

"Oh, sorry I'm fine. Asia's up in her room right?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Good, I need to have a talk with her."

I walk up the stairs to Asia's room and stand outside the door.

"Asia," I call out, "can I come in?"

"Sure thing, Ise-san." She replies, moving to open the door.

When she opens the door, I almost take a step back in pure shock. Asia, who's quite possibly the purest, most innocent person I know, is wearing an incredibly revealing set of pajamas. The white bodice is so tight on her that it's almost a second skin; and the hem of the skirt portion leaves so little to the imagination that it's borderline obscene.

"A-Asia, where did you get those clothes?" I stutter.

"Oh, Raynare-san bought them for me. She said that you'd like them. So, what do you think?" She asks, a light pink blush covering her face while she shyly turns away from me.

"W-well," I stutter, still unable to full comprehend her attire, "it's definitely not something I'd expect you to wear."

She looks hurt.

"No, it's not anything bad! It's just unexpected!" She looks relieved. "It actually looks pretty good; but it just doesn't seem like you, so it took me by surprise. So, can I come in?"

"Oh, of course!" She steps aside and lets me into the room. She sits down on the edge of her bed; she pats the spot next to her and gestures me to sit down. I move to the bed and sit down, however, I'm a little farther away then she'd gestured.

"I just wanted to talk about a few things. Is that okay with you?" I ask. Before she responds, she scoots over and sits right next to me.

"That's fine, Ise-san."

"Good. Just so you know, this might be a little uncomfortable; so if you want to stop, just say so."

She nods.

"When I reincarnated you, I didn't really ask for your approval. I just want to make sure that you're okay with it."

"Well," She says, "it's strange. But I'm happy that you did this to me, it's just all a little much to take in."

I put my arm around her and pull her into a gentle hug.

"I understand, Asia. You were raised on the belief that us devils were evil; and now you're one of us. It'd be enough to make anybody's head spin, but you've somehow managed to carry on without too much of a hiccup."

I squeeze her in tighter.

"Just remember," I say, "if you need anything – And I mean anything – just let me know."

"In that case, Ise-san, would you stay with me tonight?"

"Are you having trouble sleeping?" I worry.

She doesn't say a thing, but I can faintly feel her nod.

"I understand. There's nothing to be ashamed of. You've seen more grotesque violence in the past few days alone than most people will in their lifetime. It's completely understandable if you're frightened, and you don't need to worry about it. Of course I'll stay with you. I want to show you something real quick."

"Oh, what is it?"

"You know about my real age, right?"

"What do you mean?"

"I told you about my past right? When my parents were killed when I was six?"

Yes.

"Well, that was about twenty years ago. The body you see before you is really just a construct made of illusion magic so that I can go to school with all of you. I'm actually twenty-seven."

"Really, you're that old? But you look so young!"

"Illusion magic is my specialty, so it looks real; I just want to show you what I really look like." I say, stepping away and casting a spell to dispel the illusion.

When I finish casting the spell, I can feel the telltale stuffiness of the magic step away. I look down, and I can see my limbs lengthen, the floor pulls away by a small amount as I grow taller.

"Ise-san, you have so many scars1!" She says.

"I said it before, mercenary work is risky business." I joke, chuckling at the brutality of the joke.

"So, which do you prefer?" I ask, "The seventeen year-old me, or the twenty-seven year old me?"

"I don't really mind, Ise-san. No matter how you look, you'll always be the same Ise-san that I…" Before she finishes, she tails off and blushes furiously.

 _"Dammit. Another one?"_

 **"Two for two, good job."** Ddraig replies.

 _"This is going to get difficult."_

 **"Not necessarily, dragons are infamous for having multiple maidens."**

 _"One problem: I'M NOT A DRAGON!"_ I shout.

 **"Half your brain is dragon, and with all the body parts I've regenerated, I'd say your body is at least a quarter. Thus, let's just say you're five eights dragon. That's more than half. And thus, you're mostly dragon."**

 _"That is some really roundabout logic."_

"Ise-san, is something the matter?" Asia asks, worried about the amount of time I'd spaced out.

"No, I was just debating on whether or not to change back. I think I might, we do have school tomorrow, and it'd be bad if I forgot to change."

"I suppose." She says.

"Yeah, can you imagine it? A twenty-seven year-old man coming into a high school classroom and saying that he's a student. That'd be hilarious."I say, cracking up as I recast the spell.

"Well then, I guess it's time for bed. Good night, Asia."

I climb into bed and close my eyes. A few seconds later, I hear Asia climb into the bed and cuddle up next to me.

"Good night, Ise-san."

* * *

AN:

Chapter 14 is out of the way, and next chapter will be the fight with Raiser. One of the reasons that this took so long (sorry about that) is that I was doing some research, and I noticed something very interesting about Raiser's regenerative capabilities. I'm debating on whether or not I want to use the holy water or use my own method. Canonicly (is that spelled right?), my way is completely feasible, but I'm not sure if I want to branch out away from canon too much. I think I might actually use a hybrid of my method and the holy water, but you'll see in the end.

For all of you who are worried about what I did with Koneko last chapter, you don't need to be concerned. I've said in previous responses that Koneko will be a part of the harem, and I don't have any intention to change that (she's my favorite); but I never actually established a reason as to why she opened up to him so quickly. I'm still going to keep Koneko in the harem, but I thought that she needed a reason beyond plot convenience; so I wrote in the conflict (after all, what's a romance without some conflict?)

As always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns; go ahead and let me know in reviews or PMs. This series has gotten a lot of positive feedback, and I really appreciate that. I'm not very well versed in fiction writing (this is my first shot at it), so I'm glad to see you all enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it. As I said in the first few chapters, and I'll reiterate it now: I don't have much of a concrete plan for this, and I'd be perfectly willing to take your ideas into account if you can provide substantial reasoning (beyond "I want it" [that's just boring, I'm looking for things that I could do that might enrich the story])


	16. Chapter 15

I wake up before before Asia does. The sunlight shines through the window and hits me directly in the face; completely blocking her from the intrusive light. Her head is nestled against my neck, in the crook between it and my shoulder. I debate sitting up, but decide to let her sleep for a while longer. I lay in silence and run through my options going forth.

 _"_ _Ddraig, can you pick up Raynare_ **?"** I ask mentally.

 **"** **No, it doesn't appear that she's currently in the house. Her energy signature is rather far away so I can't be sure, but she appears to be at the school. The Gremory heiress and her queen are there as well."** He answers.

 _"_ _Good, so that means that we won't be interrupted."_

I shrug, moving Asia's head and waking her up.

"Asia, it's morning." I say, patting her head.

"Oh, good morning, Ise-san." She says, yawning.

She stretches and accidentally hits me on the head.

"Oh!" she cries, "I'm so sorry, Ise-san."

"Relax, Asia, it'll take a lot more than a tap on the head to hurt me." I chuckle.

"Oh."

"So, there's a little favor I need you to do for me…" I say, sitting up and swinging my legs off the side of the bed.

"Sure! What do you need, Ise-san?"

"I didn't tell you before; but Raiser came yesterday afternoon. We agreed that the fight's going to happen tomorrow."

"Are you going to be okay?" She asks, jumping to her feet.

"I'll probably get a little hurt, but it's nothing I can't recover from.

 **"** **She won't be happy when she finds out you're lying to her."** Ddraig says through the mental link.

 _"_ _It's necessary. I don't like it any more than she does; but it's the only way that I can convince her to not stop me."_

 **"** **You can be ruthless sometimes."**

 _"_ _If I do get seriously hurt, then I'll have to apologize to her; but there's nothing proving that I'll die."_

"Ise-san? Are you talking with the dragon again?" Asia asks, confused.

"Yeah, he's just being annoying."

"What did he want to talk about?"

"Don't worry about it, Asia. It's not important. So back to the matter at hand; I currently don't have the means to beat Raiser without killing him."

"How I help you with that?" she asks confused.

"Do you still have anything from your time in the church? Like a cross or holy water?"

"I think so, but won't that hurt us if we touch it?"

"If we avoid direct contact with it, we should be fine. We'll still get headaches, but there's really no helping that; because MICHAEL'S A PRICK!" I shout up, attempting to antagonize the archangel.

"Ow!" Asia shouts as she feels the same headache that I'm hit with; though mine's presumably much worse than hers.

"That was kind of a lesson for you." I say, "Devils can't associate with holy elements at all; even mentioning god or anything Christian in nature can cause us pretty bad headaches. You probably don't want to hear this, but you'll have to give it up for the time being." She looks at me, slightly perplexed and a little but hurt. "But I digress."

I stand up and start pacing, explaining the situation to Asia while I work through it in my head.

"Phoenix regeneration or not, Raiser is still a devil. So he should still be weak to holy elements just like the rest of us. Phoenix healing only repairs his body, but he can still feel pain; that's where I have an advantage. He can beat me by crippling or killing me, or forcing me to surrender; but the only way I can surely beat him is by causing him so much pain that he resigns. I think I know how to kill him, but it's all based on theory; it's never really been proven. Even then, it'll cause a ton of political issues if I do kill him."

"So you've really considered killing him?" She asks worriedly.

"Not really; it's really a last resort. I don't want to kill him any more than he wants to do; but I have absolutely no intention of letting him win this one. He's done absolutely nothing to earn a bride of Rias' caliber."

"So, you like Rias-Buchou that way?" She asks.

"Well, it's a little more complicated than that. I've been a ward of the Gremory family since three years before Rias was born. Azazel-sama and Sirzechs-sama saw me as a way to bridge gap between the two factions, so I was raised by both of them; that's how I know Raynare, Mittelt, and Kalawarner. I spent a total of about seven years with the Gremory family, and, in a way, I grew up with Rias; so she's kind of like a younger sister."

"Oh, I see. I guess it's just hard to grasp, because you're so much older than Rias-Buchou."

"Well, Asia, the thing about devils is that they can live for a ridiculously long time, I've actually never heard a devil dying naturally; so age isn't really that big a deal if it's a relatively small gap."

"So, you and I could live together for near forever?"

"Not quite. You will, since you're reincarnated, biologically speaking, you're a devil. But I'm a half breed. We'll still live for a long time, but it's almost assured that you're all going to outlast me."

"Ise-san!" She gasps, starting to cry.

"Calm down, Asia. It may seem bad, but we're talking a period of hundreds of thousands of years."

"But, Ise-san, still…"

 **"** **You should tell her the whole story."** Ddraig tells me.

"…Whole story?"

"Damn it, Ddraig!"

"Ise-san, what's he talking about."

"Don't worry about it, Asia." I say in an attempt to brush her off.

"Ise-san, you need to tell me about this!"

 **"** **If you don't tell her, I will."** Ddraig says.

"Fine." I growl. "It's part of the fight. One of my last resorts for the fight is a really dangerous ability that's part of my sacred gear. It's called Juggernaut drive. If I pull it off, I'll be able to completely destroy Raiser without any trouble whatsoever."

"So why don't you want to use it?"

"Because of the associated risks. Juggernaut drive may give me incredible power, but the cost is my life force. The longer I stay in juggernaut drive, the more of my life force is consumed to maintain the transformation."

"Can you not end the transformation early?"

"I wish, but mental stability is also one of the things sacrificed for Juggernaut drive. After too long, I won't be able to stop myself, and will eventually consume my entire life force."

She gasps and covers her mouth.

"Ise-san, that's… that's horrible!"

"Which is why it's a last resort. If my other plans don't work, then I'll have no choice but to go into juggernaut drive and hope I can win before I pass the point of no return. It's one of the reasons I wanted to get that equipment from you."

"Of course I'll give it to you!" she shouts, running up and hugging me. "Just promise that you won't do that! Please!"

"Now that you've agreed to help me, I probably won't have to." I hug her back. "Thank you Asia, I wouldn't be able to do this without you."

"Just come back safe. Please, Ise-san."

"Of course. If I don't, you and Ray will never let me hear the end of it, right?"

She giggles.

"That's right." She says, pulling away from me.

I pat her on the head and walk towards the door.

"Thanks, Asia." I say, opening the door and walking into the hallway. "I need to go meet with Rias to make some arrangements, so I won't be back until later. Do you think that you could leave the equipment on the counter?"

"Sure!"

"Thanks."

I close the door and walk towards the exit of the house.

 _"_ _Did you know my plan, or did you being an asshole just work in my favor for once?"_ I ask Ddraig while walking down the street.

 **"** **Plan?"**

 _"_ _To get the stuff from Asia. I assume that that's why you said what you did about Juggernaut Drive."_

 **"** **As much as I detest you using trickery and manipulation, it was a necessary evil."**

 _"_ _Glad we're on the same page. I didn't like having to manipulate her either, by the way; but it was the only way to get the final piece of the puzzle."_

 **"** **You actually sounded like a strategist there. Maybe some of my past hosts are rubbing off on you."**

 _"_ _You think so? I guess having some help might be useful, especially if it's from people of such high caliber."_ I respond, playing along with the ruse.

* * *

Before I know it, I'm standing in front of Kuoh Academy's old school building and the home base of Rias and her peerage. Casting out my senses, I can feel Raynare gathered with all of Rias' peerage inside the clubroom. I enter the school building and walk up to the room; before I can knock on the door, it opens.

"Ara Ara," Rias' queen says, blocking my entrance to the room "Who would have guessed that the wedding crasher would show his face to the bride?" She mocks.

"A pleasure, Akeno. Now, I believe I have some business with you master." I say, brushing her to one side and stepping into the room. As I enter, Koneko turns away from me; I guess I really did go a little too far last night.

"Rias, would you and Akeno mind having a conversation with me in private?"

She shakes her head.

"Yuuto, Koneko, please leave us." She says.

At her command, Kiba and Koneko file out of the room.

"Ray, that goes for you as well." I say, gesturing to the door behind me.

"You sure about this?" She asks.

"Ray, don't make me say it again." I say with false malice that anybody could see through.

She grins and walks out the door behind me.

"Oh, before you leave; here's my credit card." I say, passing it over to her. "I want you to run home and take Asia to get some more clothes and supplies. You okay with that?"

She takes it from me and laughs. "Didn't I tell you that I already bought her some?"

"I'd rather she have clothes that are actually presentable in public, unlike that monstrosity you bought for her."

"You don't like my tastes?" She asks teasingly.

"Quite the opposite," I play along. "I just want to covet that all to myself. It wouldn't do for anybody else to see her in such attire."

"Fine, fine. Whatever you say, boss." She pockets the card and waltzes out of the room grinning like a fool.

"Now," I say, flopping down onto one of the couches. "Down to business."

"Grayfia told me that you met with Raiser last night." Rias says, looking at me from her desk.

"And?" I casually respond.

"What do you mean, and?! What did you say?" shouts.

"Oh, just the basic stuff: Rules of engagement, bets, that sort of stuff. Nothing too interesting."

"What kind of bets did you make?" She asks.

"I'm afraid it's against the spirit of the agreement to disclose the nature of wagers unless both parties consent." I joke. "But seriously, it's better if you don't know. The more people left out of this the better."

"Issei, I demand that you-"

"You demand?" I scoff. "Rias let me remind you for whose sake I'm doing this in the first place. I'm not the one getting married, nobody in my peerage is getting married, and yet I decided to put myself on the line to help _you_."

"Ise…"

"You know very well that I might die in this fight, so don't even try to 'demand' that I do anything. You may not like it, but you need to listen to me on this."

"I… I understand."

"Good. Now that that's been settled, I need to have a word alone with Akeno."

"Ise, I thought that you wanted to talk with me!" She shouts.

"I did, and I still do; but this takes precedence. I'm sorry, but would you mind waiting outside; I don't want you listening in on this."

"Again with the secrets." She mumbles, standing up and heading out the door. "I'll be outside, come see me when you two are done."

"Works for me." I say.

"Now, Akeno; let's talk favors." I say.

"Ara ara. What could the great dragon need from a devil that he couldn't get himself?" She asks breathily as she drapes herself across the couch opposite me.

"Akeno, I need you to be serious about this." I say seriously, staring at her.

Detecting my intent, she sits up and looks at me intently.

"What's going on?" She asks.

"It's about Rias. There's a chance that I'm going to lose the fight; and if I do, I need you to promise me something."

"What?"

"Get Rias out. I'll give you a magic circle tonight, and if I lose, I need you to promise me that you'll do whatever it takes to get Rias away from him."

"What makes you sure that Rias won't run away on her own?"

"Because I know Rias. If I'm hurt, then the first thing she'll do is run to me."

"That's an awfully high opinion of yourself." She says slightly angrily.

"Akeno, you're the only member of Rias' peerage who was around before I left. You know very well how she feels about me."

"I guess so."

"So can I count on you?" I ask, reaching forward to shake her hand.

"Fine. Just make sure that I don't have to do it." She says, reaching forward and shaking my hand.

I stand up from the couch and walk towards the door.

"Well, since that's done, I guess I should go get Rias from outside. I'll see you later, Akeno."

"In case I don't see you again today, good luck." She says, moving to one of the adjacent rooms.

"I won't need luck;" I call back, "I'm a motherfucking dragon."

I close the door behind me to the sound of Akeno's laughter and head outside. When I leave the building, I spot Rias sulking under a tree a little bit away from the door. I walk over and stand next to her.

"Is the princess not happy to be kidnapped by the dragon?" I ask as I pull her to her feet.

"Issei… I've been thinking. What happens if you lose?" She asks looking at me worriedly.

"Rias, you don't need to worry. I won't lose, and if I do; I'm taking that bitch down with me."

"Issei…"

"Rias, we need to have a talk. Come on, I'll treat you to some lunch or something."

I grab her hand and pull her out of the school with me.

"Issei! What about Akeno?" She shouts while lightly pulling away from me.

"Don't worry, she's working right now. But you and I need to talk business. There's a great restaurant about fifteen minutes from the school; shall we go there?"

Before she can respond, I pull her out of the school gates and walk down the road towards the commercial district of town. After walking in relative silence, we arrive in front of the restaurant.

"Table for two, please." I say as I approach the hostess.

"Certainly," she replies, "Right this way."

She leads us to the back of the restaurant and seats us in a secluded corner of the room. We take our seats and order drinks.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Rias asks slightly angrily after our drinks arrive.

"Oh, nothing much." I say, taking a large gulp of my water. "I just wanted to check in on you, and maybe make some arrangements for when I win."

"Well, that sounds rather confident." She grins.

"I kind of have to be. Fights like these are won before they even officially start." I explain. "If I were to go up against you in a fight, how would you feel if I acted absolutely terrified?"

"Well, I'd feel better about my odds of winning…"

"Exactly. Now, what would you do if I was relaxed as could be, but still seemed so confident it bordered on sheer arrogance? If I acted like the outcome was already decided; and it was in my favor."

"Well, it'd be rather unsettling."

"Precisely. I have no doubt that the firebird's tailing me in some way; so I have to keep up the facade as a method of psychological warfare. Fights are rarely won by brute strength alone, you see."

"I guess it makes sense when you put it like that, but do you really think it could work?"

"On him? no. But, he's not the target."

"You've lost me."

"Raiser's pride is that he has a full peerage of sixteen; and that everybody in that peerage is intensely devoted to him on a moral and romantic level - with the exception of his sister, of course. If I can unnerve them enough to try and talk him out of it, it'll damage morale at least a tad. Which is one of the reasons that I've been acting the way I have been. If they love him like we know they do, they don't want to see him die. And if they don't want to see him die, then they might just act a little too rash for Raiser's taste."

"I understand the core logic," Rias says while crossing her arms. "But I don't really see how it would actually work in practice."

"Honestly," I confess "neither do I. This is really only based in theory; but anything is better than nothing at all. Even still, it's also for Asia, Ray, and Koneko-chan. Asia already tried to talk me out of it this morning, and I don't doubt that others are going to try the same. If I look in control, they're less inclined to worry about me; and I'd like to avoid being a bother."

"You really do care about them, don't you?" She mutters to herself.

"Of course I do." I state simply. "You all are the only family I have left."

"By the way, did you say something to Koneko? She seems rather upset."

"You're not going to like it, Rias." I warn.

"She's like my family too, I can handle it." She retorts.

"Fine. Koneko-chan is romantically interested in me, as you know."

She nods, though she looks rather angry about it.

"What's with the look?" I ask.

"Just continue." She grunts angrily.

"Well, I have a feeling that the entire basis of her affection is stemming from Kuroka's abandoning her." I explain. "I brought it up to her, and she denied it, as I expected she would. But, I don't think she's come to grips with it, so I suggested that she take some time to herself to think it over."

Rias stares at me for about a minute.

"You dumbass!" she shouts, drawing the attention of other patrons in the restaurant.

"What?" I ask defensively.

"Do you have any idea what that might have done to her? To her, you might as well be abandoning her just like her sister! You need to fix this. Now." She glares at me angrily.

"I… I didn't even think about that." I groan to myself. "I'll go talk to her as soon as we're done here. You're right, I screwed up big time."

"Be honest, are you just trying to atone for not being able to help in her trial?" She asks.

I look down. "Maybe a little. It's just, everyone was against her! If I was there, at least she'd know that _somebody_ had her back."

"Issei, she doesn't know that you were supposed to be there; in her eyes, you had nothing to atone for."

"Then I'm going to tell her tonight. Looks like I'm going to be busy on what could be my last night alive."

I chuckle at my grotesque joke while Rias stares at me in open-mouthed shock.

"Relax, Rias." I say, "I was kidding. So back to business. When I win we need to come up with a political maneuver. You probably don't want to hear this, but I think we should get engaged."

"Issei! What do you mean?" She shouts flustered.

"Relax; I wouldn't break you out of one marriage just to force you into another one. According to the original deal, you didn't have to marry Raiser until you graduate from University. I say we do the same thing; but let's just drop the university part entirely. You can just be engaged to me in name only, and if you don't want to, then you only have to act like we are in public."

"I... I suppose that engagement to you isn't exactly something I'd abhor."

"Good, then I suppose we're done here. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go talk to Koneko. Is she still leaving in the apartment complex owned by your family?"

She nods.

"Well then, I'll be off."

I walk out of the restaurant after leaving money on the table to pay. As I walk to the apartment complex where Koneko lives, I pass by a relatively well-known confectionery and decide to pick her up some chocolate as an apology for my foolishness.

When I arrive in front of the apartment building, I realize I don't know which unit Koneko lives in. Casting out my senses, I feel her on the fifth floor in the unit facing the road. I gather strength in my legs and jump onto her balcony in a single leap. Looking back down at the sidewalk, I can see a few pedestrians blinking in shock, as well as cracks in the pavement where I jumped. I step forward to the door of the apartment and knock, though I don't say a word.

After about a minute, Koneko opens the door.

"Senpai!" She blushes and slams the door in my face.

"Koneko-chan, we need to talk; and I need to apologize." I say, slumping against the door. "You don't need to talk; just listen."

She reopens the door and stands aside to let me pass. She doesn't say a word, but gestures to a couch in the center of the room with at table in front of it. I walk in and move to the couch while placing the chocolates on the table.

"There's a long story behind this, so you'll have to bear with me on this."

She sits down on the other end of the couch, as far away from me as she could get.

"Right then. I guess I should get going. For a really long time, I had trouble with people. I grew up in the underworld; which wasn't exactly conducive to a happy childhood."

"I thought you were raised by the Gremories." She says.

"I was, but I didn't go to them first. I was sent to live with the fallen angels for a little before Sirzechs-sama brought me in. As I said, my parents were killed by fallen; so I didn't really like living with them at first. Basically, I ran away."

She gasps and scoots closer to me on instinct.

"I lived on the streets for about three months. As you could guess, it wasn't a happy time. When you grow up like that, you don't really trust people for a long time afterwards. Down there, everybody has an ulterior motive, and nobody is on your side. When you came at me like that, happy though I was, my instincts were screaming at me not to trust you."

"Senpai, you can trust me; I promise." She closes the gap between us and hugs me.

"There's another reason, Koneko-chan. And you this one's worse." I sigh, prying her off of me.

"Do you remember what happened after Kuroka went rogue?"

She nods, but looks extremely uncomfortable.

"After she did, you went on trial. The tribunal was formed through the offering of a choice to high class devils. They could either serve on the jury for the trial, or they could hunt down Kuroka. Obviously, I chose to hunt; I'd thought that the other devils would be reasonable and realize that you had no part in it, but I was mistaken. In the end, every member wanted you dead save for Sirzechs-sama. If I had only stayed with you instead of hunting down your sister, I could have persuaded them to leave you be!" I sight. "It's my fault that you went through what you did."

"Senpai…"

"When I told you everything yesterday, I was trying to punish myself by driving you away. What I didn't realize, though, was in doing so; I was hurting you; which I never intended to do."

I stand up and head toward the door.

"You probably hate me now, after knowing what I've done. I understand if you don't want to be associated with me. I'll just let myself out."

Before I get to the door, Koneko jumps up and hugs me.

"Senpai, it's not your fault!" I turn around and look at her. Surprisingly, she's gone full nekomata form. She wraps her tail around my midsection and nuzzles into my chest.

"Koneko-chan, are you sure about this? After everything I've said? After everything I've _done_?"

"Senpai, it's not your fault. You did nothing wrong; and living with Rias-Buchou was one of the best things that's happened to me."

"Are you sure, Koneko-chan? I've-"

"Senpai, I said it's not your fault."

"Fine." I say, hugging her back.

"Will you stay with me for the rest of the day, then?"

"I can't. I'm sorry." Her ears flatten against her head and looks she looks rather sad. "The fight is tomorrow, and I need to get some supplies from Asia. I can stay until tonight, but then I'll have to leave."

"I… I understand. Can I go with you?" She asks nervously.

"I don't see why not." I say as I sit back down on the couch.

Almost immediately, Koneko takes her seat on my lap with alarming speed. She nuzzles into my chest as she opens the box of chocolates I'd brought. I idly stroke her hair as I lean back and close my eyes. After about ten minutes of this, I sit back up.

"I understand now." I say, breaking the silence.

"What do you mean?" she asks.

"For the first time in a while, I'm actually at peace. I understand what you mean now, this really is relaxing."

She nuzzles hard into me and lets out a contented sigh.

"I say we just stay like this for a while." I say, going back into my calm state of relaxation.

I don't know exactly how long we stay like that, her in my lap, me stroking her hair; but the sun is setting before I realize it. I pick her up and set her on the ground as I stand up.

"It's getting late, do you still want to go home with me?"

She nods.

"Well then, let's go." I take her hand and lead her to my house.

* * *

When we arrive at my house, Asia and Raynare are waiting in the sitting room.

"I'm back." I call out as Koneko and I walk through the door.

"Welcome back, Ise-san!" Asia calls out in response. "Oh, Koneko-chan! You're here too?"

She nods.

"Asia, do you have the equipment I asked you for this morning?" I ask.

She nods and hands me a leather satchel with a cross embroidered on it.

"Thank you. Now, I've got a big day tomorrow, so I should get some sleep. Koneko-chan, would you like to stay here for the night?"

She nods.

"Well then, ladies, good night. Tomorrow morning, Grayfia-san will bring you to the arena. Koneko-chan, the same applies to you."

Koneko and I head upstairs to my bedroom and I completely collapse on the bed. Right before I fall asleep, I feel Koneko climb on top of me and rest her head on my chest.

* * *

I sleep dreamlessly, but somehow it's just as disconcerting as a nightmare. Thankfully, Grayfia shakes me awake before anything too bad sets in.

"Issei-sama," she says. "It's time."

* * *

 **AN: Just wanted to throw this out. this scene will contain slightly graphic depictions of violence and gore, so if you're not comfortable with that, I advise that you don't read this.**

* * *

"Ladies and Gentlemen, esteemed guests, welcome to the fight between Lord Issei Hyoudou of House Andromalius and Raiser Phenex of House Phenex." The announcer's voice booms over the magic amplification system in the arena. "I am Grayfia Lucifuge, maid of the house of Gremory, and I will be calling the match."

Raiser and I are standing on opposite ends of a circular arena five hundred meters in diameter; the underworld sky above us is a roiling mass of crimson gas and lightning, providing a perfect backdrop for the match.

While Grayfia explains the rules of the match, Raiser glares at me and cracks his knuckles. In response, I shoot him a death glare and adjust Asia's pouch on my belt.

"Without further ado, let the battle commence!" Grayfia declares.

Raiser launches himself towards me while I stand in place.

When he gets close to me, I reach out and grab him by the throat. with my grip as tight as possible, I pick him up and slam him face first into the ground.

"Fool." He chuckles. In defense to my grabbing him, he covers his entire body with fire.

"Good idea." I say, stomping his face into the dirt as I dig my other knee into his spine. "Only one problem. FIRE DOESN'T WORK ON A DRAGON!" I grab him by the shoulder and begin to pull. The sound of ripping muscles and snapping bones in only overshadowed by Raiser's shrieks of pain. My face is covered in spurts of blood as I rip his left arm clear out of its socket, the bones clearly visible on the end of the limb.

Taking advantage of my lack of grip, Raiser jumps free of me. Flames engulf the stump that's left of his arm as his phoenix powers help him regenerate.

"Did you forget, Hyoudou? No damage I take is permanent!" He forms a ball of fire and launches it at me. "Unlike you!"

I cross my arms and dispel the fire. "Fire doesn't work on me! Give it a rest!" I shout as I force the fire aside.

 **"** **It was a feint! Get down!"** Ddraig shouts as Raiser appears behind the flame with a punch heading right for my head. I turn to the side and take to the sky, but not in time to completely evade the punch. It strikes me in my right leg with enough force that I can feel the bone cleanly break. Before I can respond or begin to defend, Raiser flies up to my level and lets loose a torrent of punches that hit all over my body. I can feel fractures form in most of my ribs, and blood spurts from my nose. Desperate to buy time, I punch Raiser in the stomach full power and fly away at top speed. Once I'm a safe distance away, I stop flying and hover in place.

"Ddraig, it's time!" I shout, forming the boosted gear on my arm.

 **"** **Understood, partner. Welsh Dragon, Over Booster!"**

"Balance Breaker, Scale Mail!"

As I shout the command, blood red plate armor forms over my body. within a second, I am completely encased in a suit of crimson armor with a similar appearance to the boosted gear's gauntlet form.

"W-What did you do?" Raiser shouts as he flies up to be level with me.

"It's obvious, isn't it? I decided to let loose a little bit of my power. So, Raiser Phenex, you have two choices: resign now, or be destroyed." I float above him and form a ball of energy in my palm.

"Damn you!" He roars as he flies towards me yet again.

 **"** **Dragon shot!"** I shout as I hurl the ball of energy at him. It catches him square in the stomach and rips a hole the size of an orange clean through his torso. As the blood starts to flow, flames cover the wound and regenerate it.

"Don't you see, Hyoudou? You can't win! I heal anything that you do to me! Just give up now, and I'll make it painless."

"Ddraig, devote all excess energy to speed and physical attack power."

 **"** **Understood."**

I feel a surge of energy in my muscles as I begin to fly at incredibly speeds around Raiser.

"you're right, you know." I say. "I can't hurt you physically."

I pull a bottle out of the leather pouch and undo the cork stopper.

I fly in close and use the sharp talon of the glove to punch a hole clean through his chest.

"But," I snarl as I pour the contents of the bottle into the wound "I can still damage your mind!"

I throw the flask away and hover above Raiser. Looking down, I see him in a tremendous amount of pain. The flesh around his wound is peeling, steaming, and boiling all at once; and the wound itself is practically black from the burn damage.

"This pain, it couldn't be: Holy water?!" He shouts.

"Correct you are, Raiser. Now, do you resign?" I gloat as I dissolve the helmet of my armor.

"Never!" He shouts as he launches at me with one last ditch effort. Before I can react, I feel an unbearable pain in my right eye and all I can see is fire.

I pull back, roaring in pain.

"You bitch!" I roar, flying back down, the blood from my ruined eye flying into my only good one. Feeling Ddraig's anger welling up inside of me, I grab him by the throat and slam him to the ground with enough force to bury him three feet in. "You're in the fucking ground, you bitch!" I roar angrily as I stomp repeatedly on his head. Blood, bone fragments, and other biological material fly upwards as I continue my demented tap-dance on the Phoenix's skull. Before long, I break through his skull and am one step away from killing him once and for all when a voice stops me.

"Lord Hyoudou, please, stop this! You're going to kill him!" it shouts desperately.

Looking up, I see Ravel, the younger sister, running towards us with tears streaming from her eyes.

"Due to a noncombatant entering the battlefield," I say, forcefully pulling myself out of my rage and climbing out of the hole. "Raiser Phenex has lost the match as a violation of rule number four."

 _"_ _Ddraig, be a pal and regrow my eye for me."_ I think.

 **"** **But partner, that means-"**

 _"_ _I know what it means, just do it."_

I grimace in pain as the draconic tissue replaces the damaged human tissue as Ddraig regrows my eye as his own. Once the process is complete, I have full vision once again; and I can even slightly see heat signatures and the beating hearts of everybody in the vicinity.

 **"** **Congratulations partner, you're now more me than you."**

 _"_ _Oh, come on, Ddraig! I've still got the important parts! Besides, you only have the little crap, like my pancreas and stuff."_

 **"** **And your brain, arm, legs, most of your stomach-"**

 _"_ _I get the picture."_

I walk over to Ravel and pat her on the shoulder.

"Thanks, by the way. I really would have killed him."

She gasps.

"Now, I think you should grab your brother and go. He doesn't sound too happy." I say, pointing back at the pit where Raiser's cries of pain are coming from. As he regenerates the damage I inflicted on him the flames climb to be higher than the walls of the hole itself.

Once Ravel grabs Raiser and teleports away, the arena begins to crumble around me. Before I can reactivate my wings, I'm in freefall. Before I fall for too long, though, Akeno flies up and catches me.

"Ara, Ara. Ise-kun, I never knew you could be so dominant." She moans with an unsettling pink tint to her cheeks.

 **"** **Partner, get ready. When the strain of this fight hits, you're going to be out for a while." Ddraig tells me.**

 ** _"_** _How long can you delay it?"_

 **"** **About an hour at most, but you're going to start feeling it within minutes."**

 _"_ _Lovely."_

Akeno deposits me on one of the numerous balconies of the the Gremory Mansion. Just as Ddraig says, exhaustion hits me like a truck; and I find it near impossible to stand. Luckily, Rias is there next to me to catch me as I stumble.

"See," I groan. "I told you I'd win."

"Congratulations, Lord Hyoudou." Sirzechs tells me. "Now, as the victor of the battle, what would you like as your reward?"

I muster all my remaining strength and stand up on my own.

"I will take Rias Gremory." I state simply, wrapping my arm around Rias' waist.

"Very well then. She is now yours to do with as you please." He says as he pulls out a summoning slip and conjures a griffon. "You can use this to leave; it'll allow you to avoid the media."

"Thank you, Lord Lucifer." I say as Rias and I climb onto the Griffon. "I appreciate your business; please don't hesitate to come to me if you ever need anything again." With those parting words, the griffon takes to the skies.

"Ise, look." Rias says, breaking the silence. "My engagement may be over, and I appreciate that, but I can assure you that this isn't the last we'll hear of it. Not by any means."

"I know that, Rias." I say. "And when the next thing happens, I'll just be there to back you up again. I'm not going to let anything happen to you, so you can relax."

"Ise…"

"I'll do whatever I have to, so you just focus on living a normal life, Okay?"

Instead of a traditional response, she pulls me into a kiss. Not a short, chaste kiss like those I've had with Koneko, but instead a deep and passionate one. Before I can even decide to reciprocate, however, she's already pulled away.

"Ise, I've decided that I should live with you from now on." She bluntly states.

"Wait, what?" I ask confused.

"Think about it, if you and I are supposedly engaged, then it's only fitting that I live with you."

"A-a-are you sure about this?" I stutter.

"What, you don't what me to?"

"It's not that! I just… fine, if you say so."

The Griffon flies us into the human world and lands in the athletics field at the school. Thankfully, the night patrol is on the other side of campus, so we were able to sneak out of the area before they arrived to investigate the noise. Rias and I fled to my house, where we arrived before everybody else. Mittelt and Kalawarner apparently still haven't returned from their job yet, but that can wait until later. True to Ddraig's warning, the full brunt of the fight hits me at once, and I collapse like a sack of bricks on the floor.

* * *

AN: As promised, here's your monthly installment. Looking at my schedule, chapters should be able to come out more frequently than once a month (counting a month as 4 weeks, not a calendar month) in the future. Now, onto some things to talk about with the last few chapters.

In the last chapter, I revealed that Issei was the sole remaining member and leader of the Andromalius clan. According to the official back-story of High School DxD, the 72 pillar houses were formed by the 72 leading generals of hell's army after the war; and according to both biblical research and DxD lore, Andromalius was one of these generals. As mentioned in Volume 8 of the light novels, the Andromalius was one of the 72 pillar families, but is currently extinct. For the sake of plot convenience, I decided to bring it back. Drawing connections between pillar clans and the respective generals, you are able to determine at least some semblance of a clan's affinity. According to most supernatural lore, Andromalius was in charge of discovering thieves -and subsequent stolen goods-, underhanded dealings, and all hidden treasures. Due to the first part (the thieves) I kind of jumped a bridge and linked it to an affinity for illusions (hence why Issei's magic specialty is illusion [the underdog of magic]). Lore also states that Andromalius should be called upon in evocation. I thought to myself, how does a devil family help with others summoning? Hence why Issei is a mercenary. According to lore, Andromalius is very insistent on proper compensation; which only furthers the merc bit.

Moving on to the fight with Raiser, some people are probably going to say it was a bit too easy; and that Issei is OP. I understand that, but I disagree with the latter. I rewatched the first season of the show and read the corresponding manga and LN and realized that nobody in S1 is actually all that powerful. If Issei could destroy Raiser when the only thing he had going for him was scale mail, then why would he have any trouble at all when he had the before mentioned scale mail _and_ years of combat experience. I did decide to add in a little struggle, but that was just because writing a one-hit fight is really boring.

As always, if you have any questions, comments or concerns, feel free to let me know in the reviews or in a PM.


	17. Chapter 16

AN: Hello there!

I just want to preface this chapter with a little note. I actually never intended to write this in the first person present tense (I'd meant to go with the standard third person past), but once I'd put out a chapter, there wasn't much I could do to change it. I recently had the chance to reread the entirety of the piece and realized how dry the writing actually is (I really don't know how to write in first person or present tense, to even attempt to do both is honestly hilarious). Recently, though, I started reading a book series that has segments written in first person present, so I'm going to try and imitate the style of the author from this point onwards (for those curious, the author is Fujino Omori, Author of Dungeon Ni Deai Wo Motomeru). Obviously, a sudden shift in style would be rather abrupt, so I'll take it gradually (also partly because I'm probably going to have a hard time breaking the habit). Honestly, though, I'm surprised nobody called me out on it, seriously, it was like reading a transcript of a Dungeons and Dragons session.

* * *

When I wake up, I look up and realize that I'm lying in my bed in my house. I sit up and see Rias and Koneko lying on either side of me, Koneko's tail wrapped possessively around my waist while Rias is looking up at me.

"You're awake!" She gasps, bolting upright and exposing her unsurprisingly nude form.

"At this point, I'm just not going to question you being naked." I deadpan. "So, how long was I out this time?"

"A little under two days; are you feeling okay now?"

Before I can respond, Koneko's ears twitch and she wakes up.

"Senpai!" She shouts, latching onto my torso with her arms.

"She got here right after you passed out." Rias explains "She was absolutely terrified."

I look down and pat her head.

"It's fine, Koneko-chan. I just needed to sleep for a while. I'm actually surprised that I was only out for a few days, I thought it'd be way longer than that with something so severe." I chuckle.

"Actually, Ise, you have Koneko-chan to thank for that." Rias says.

I look down at Koneko again.

"T-Then you…" I stammer.

Koneko nods slightly.

"Thank you, Koneko-chan." I say, hugging her back. "I know you probably don't like using Senjutsu; and I apologize for making you do it."

"I-It's okay, Senpai."

I look down and pat her on the head, scratching behind her cat ears idly while I rub my new eye.

 **"Does your eye bother you, partner"** Ddraig asks me aloud.

"A little bit." I admit.

 **"Good. Pain builds character."**

"Whatever you say, dad." I mock. I pry Koneko off of me and stand up, looking down, I realize that I'm just as nude as Rias and Koneko. Before I do anything else, I use magic and summon a set of clothes to change in to.

"Rias, what are things like in the underworld?" I ask, changing into a casual set of clothes and stepping over to the mirror. "I doubt that everything's all hunky-dory after I stole you from another high class family."

"Actually, Nii-sama was able to step in and stop things before they got out of hand." Rias says, standing up and going to retrieve her clothes from atop a dresser. "He managed to create a media even out of it. We actually have to make a few public appearances, now that you're awake."

"Lovely." I grunt sarcastically. "There's absolutely nothing I love more than the devil media. When's the first one?"

"This afternoon; Nii-sama arranged for you to do an interview with a news agency."

"What time is it now?"

"About eleven in the morning." She comes back to my side now and stands next to me, looking in the mirror. "We'll need to get going soon if we want to make it."

"We?" I ask confused.

"Of course, we! I have to do most of the interview with you, seeing as they're mainly about the two of us together."

"Oh, well sorry about dragging you into this, then." I say, draping my arm across her shoulder

"I'd rather have it than the alternative." She replies curtly.

"The alternative? Oh, you mean Raiser? After what I did to him, I doubt he'll come after any of us again." I say while smirking arrogantly.

"Are Asia and Ray here?" I ask, pulling away from Rias and moving toward the door.

"Yeah, and the other two are too." Rias says crestfallen.

"You mean Mittelt and Kalawarner?" I ask, stopping at the door.

"The two that were out on a job for the last few days."

"Well, that'd be them. Now, I have to go debrief them on the job, I'll come back up when it's time to go. Until then, just make yourself at home."

* * *

I walk down stairs to see Mittelt, Kalawarner, and Raynare lounging on the couch.

"Oh," Mittelt says, "he's awake."

"Very astute, Mittelt. Please; tell us what else you've noticed." I reply bitterly.

"Damn, who shit in your cereal?" She shoots back.

"Sorry. It's been a rough fifteen minutes."

Raynare stands up and walks to my side.

"What's up?" She asks slightly worried.

"Nothing too important; it's really just a minor nuisance. Apparently the devils want to make my beating Yakitori into a media circus; and I'm scheduled for an interview later on today. And you all know just how much I _love_ devil reporters."

The three of them chuckle.

"Just don't kill them, okay?" Kalawarner jokes. "It'd cause major trouble for us."

"Thanks, Kalawarner, I'm glad to see you care so much about me."

"I'm worried about them. I can speak from experience, pissing you off is rarely fun."

I laugh.

"I guess so. Speaking of pissing me off: how did the job go?"

"Well, about as well as you'd expect." Mittelt says, backing away from me slowly.

"And the payment?" I ask, taking a step toward her.

"W-well, he said that he's going about it in the usual manner. He told us you'd know what he means."

"Oh, well alrighty then. Good job, you two." I say, stepping back and dropping on the couch.

"We thought you'd be pissed, since we didn't actually collect anything." Kalawarner says.

"Oh, no, don't worry about it. Some of my longtime clients repay me in favors; and that's what he prefers to do. As long as you performed the services, I can drop by and collect payment later."

"Wait, how do you know that he's not going to deny ever making the contract?" Raynare asks from behind me.

"Are you familiar with the Colorado Wildfires of 2013?"

"I heard about them."

"That's how. He tried to skimp out on a payment before, so I let him know that such behavior would not be tolerated."

"You're telling me that you started one of the year's most infamous natural disasters just because somebody didn't settle a debt?!"

"Raynare, that's how businesses like ours operate. Clients like ours aren't exactly paragons of virtue; hell, they normally go into these contracts expecting to sell their souls. If they don't march to our cadence, then they need to know that their actions _will_ impact others. That's the way we work; our way or the highway."

"Then we're nothing more than hired thugs!" She shouts.

"Not quite. The 'hired thugs' will do just about anything. We accept jobs at our discretion; if we don't like the looks of one, then we walk away. Also, I like to use the term mercenaries; it implies a certain level of finesse."

"But-"

"Ray, listen. We actually don't do a lot of work for humans; and when we do, it hardly turns out like how I was telling you. Most of our clients are actually officials from one of the three factions or the other pantheons. If you want, I can make it so that you only work for clients who don't require any such unpleasantries."

She blushes and nods.

"Alright then. I've actually been meaning to expand out of the combat sector; so this works out well."

"Okay, that works fine."

"Speaking of which, do you know here Asia is?"

"She just went to take a bath about five minutes before you came in." Raynare tells me. "She's been with you the entire time you've been unconscious. I'm not even sure that she's slept; you should go check up on her."

"Which bathroom did she go to?"

"I think the one next to your room."

I nod, leaving the room and climbing the stairs to the third floor and stand in front of the door to one of the bathrooms on the floor.

"Asia? You in there?" I call through the door.

I stand there for about thirty seconds without hearing a response.

"Asia? Are you okay?" I shout, knocking harder on the door.

Still no response.

"Asia, I'm sorry; but I'm coming in!"

I force the door open, breaking off the handle to undo the lock, and rush into the bathroom. As I'd feared, Asia is lying unconscious in the bathtub. Thankfully, the water is still warm, which means that she hasn't been in there for long, but I'm still worried about how she passed out in the first place.

I lift her out of the tub and carry her to my bedroom down the hall. Rias and Koneko look at me quizzically before they realize what's happening and snap up in panic.

"It's nothing too bad," I say, setting her down on the bed and turning on the fan. "She just passed out in the tub. Do either of you know why this'd happen? Oh, Koneko-chan, could you go into the bathroom and grab me a towel?"

She nods and hurries off to do what I asked.

"She was probably tired." Rias says, sitting down on the edge of the bed next to Asia. "She's been with you even longer than we have, and she's been awake every time we saw her; so I don't think she's slept at all since she got here."

Koneko runs up to me carrying a towel from the bathroom. I take it from her and pat her on the head.

"Thanks." I say, creating a magic circle and summoning ice to wrap in the towel. Once the impromptu coolant is finished, I place it on Asia's forehead and sit down next to Rias.

"I really am lucky, you know that?" I say, wrapping my arm around her and pulling her into me.

"W-What do you mean by that?" She stutters.

"Sorry, just thinking out loud. Don't worry about it." I turn around as Asia begins to stir.

"Ise-san?" She groans.

"I'm here, kiddo." I say, helping her sit up and catching the ice pack as it falls off her head.

"You're awake! Thank the lord!" Everybody in the room winces at the mention of god, but that isn't enough to deter Asia from reaching up and hugging me.

"Ise-san, I'm so happy you finally woke up! I was so worried!" She cries, hugging me tighter.

 _"Oh, right, this is her first time seeing this."_ I think to myself as I gently pat her on the back.

 **"Indeed, and I don't recommend that you make a habit of it."** Ddraig replies.

 _"Wasn't planning on it."_

"I'm fine, Asia. It'll take more than that to keep me down. I was just a little tired."

"A little tired?" Rias scoffs. "You were asleep for two days."

"Fine then," I snap. "I was a lot tired. The point is I'm awake now; and I don't intend to pass out anytime soon."

Asia pulls off of me and sits up on the edge of the bed.

"Ise-san, are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine Asia; I just needed to sleep for a bit. Don't worry about me."

"But, Ise-san-"

"Asia." I say sharply. "I'm a twenty-seven year-old man. I can take care of myself. I appreciate you worrying about me; but you doing so caused you to neglect your own health: and that takes precedence over mine."

I stand up suddenly.

"Speaking of which, I have a formal event coming up; I should probably look my age." I say as I dispel the illusion magic from me and take on my true form.

Rias snaps up in surprise.

"Oh, that's right! It's almost time to go! Ise, come here; I'll teleport us to the station."

"Ise-san, where are you going?" Asia asks standing up from the bed.

"Apparently," I say "Sirzechs-sama decided to make a media event about the fight so as to ease tensions between me and the other high class devils. Rias and I have an interview with a devil news agency in a few minutes. We'll be back in a few hours; don't worry about it."

I stand next to Rias as she summons a teleportation seal and warps the two of us to the underworld.

* * *

After visiting one of the smaller houses in Gremory territory and getting proper attire, Rias and I warp to the news station. She's wearing a form fitting red dress which leaves little to be imagined while I'm clad in a standard black suit with grey tie. For once, my hair is actually combed flat; which feels completely unnatural; but Rias, for some reason, finds it to be hilarious.

"Rias," I complain "not to sound like a child, but is there any reason that I have to dress up like this?"

"Of course there is." She says matter-of-factly "It's important that you have a positive public image; even more so considering how most higher ranking devils are displeased with your actions in my engagement."

"Does it look like I give a rat's ass about what the others think? There are only four devils in this plane of existence that I have to answer to. And seeing as how none of those pricks are one of the four Satans, their thoughts have absolutely no bearing on me."

"Ise!"

"Problem, Rias? Keep in mind that it was those same 'higher class devils' that almost forced you into marrying a walking sack of garbage. If you ask me, they actually don't have any class at all." I retort, ending the conversation as we arrive in front of the building where the interview is taking place.

"Well then, _darling_ ," I say holding out my arm and letting the sarcasm loose at full force "Shall we continue?"

Rias blushes and nods, taking my arm and walking into the building with me. While the initial action was meant to be completely condescending, I'd be lying if I said I don't enjoy the feeling of walking arm in arm with Rias; her… generous assets certainly don't subtract from the experience.

When we enter the station headquarters, a somewhat well dressed man walks up to us.

"Lord Hyoudou? I'm Alistair Wright, one of the staff here at the station. Sirzechs-sama has requested me to escort you to the chamber where the interview will be held, are you ready to depart?"

His formal manner is a little discomforting, but I suppose that's inevitable; I'm supposed to be treated like nobility, after all.

"I do believe we are." I reply curtly.

"Then, Hyoudou-sama, please follow me." He turns on his heel and leads Rias and me to a higher floor and into a room with a couch and a lounge chair separated by a low coffee table.

"Please wait here, Mr. Infigo will be here momentarily to begin the interview." With that, he turns and leaves us.

I lead Rias over to the couch and we both sit down.

"I swear to all that is unholy," I say "If this guy brings up anything about my bloodline I'll kill him."

"What makes you think he will?" Rias asked confusedly.

"Because they almost always do. Back when I brought the Andromalius family back on the map single-handedly, all the media in the underworld couldn't stay wait to get an interview. However, the one think that they always fixated on was how a 'mere half-breed' like me could have the gall to become one of the seventy two pillars. Pissed me off to no end." I reply bitterly.

"Well, this station _is_ under the control of my family. If he says anything rude we can have him dismissed from his position." She tells me in a poorly masked attempt to calm me down.

"I suppose. Speaking of your family, have you decided what you want to do about our engagement?"

"W-What do you mean?!" She shouts.

"I believe you said it before. Technically, when I beat Raiser, I won the right to marry you. However, since I try not to be a massive sack of shit, I think that you should make the choice on what to do yourself. While I won't deny that a marriage will certainly strengthen both of our families, I'm not going to force it down your throat. You can make our engagement public only, and I can help prolong it until you find somebody you deem suitable; or you can actually marry me. Of course, I personally refuse to marry you until you're at least done with a university level education. After all, that is one of the things you wanted right?"

She stares at me dumbfounded and nods her head. I guess I went a little overboard there.

"I-I-" she stammers.

"You don't have to come up with a full answer now," I explain "but they're likely to ask about it, so it's important that you come up with a decision. I can hear somebody coming, so if they ask I'll just follow your lead."

Before she can respond, another man comes into the room. This one, to be frank, looks rather shifty. His wire thin frame is covered in a suit the color of ash, which is only made more unsettling by the blood red tie he's wearing. His face is rather gaunt, his cheek bones are clearly visible, and his skin has a deathly pale pallor to it. What little hair he does have is jet black and combed over to hide the vast bald expanse of this head.

"Lord Hyoudou," He says, "it is an honor to meet you." Somehow, his greeting seems to be rather sarcastic, putting an unnecessary amount of stress on my title.

"Likewise. I assume that you're Mr. Infigo?" I ask.

"Yes. I am Emanuel Infigo, middle class devil and servant of the Gremory family. I will be conducting your interview today. Would you like to begin?"

Rias and I both nod.

"Well then, I think everybody is dying to know: Lord Hyoudou, now that you have defeated Lord Phenex and claimed Lady Rias for yourself, what do you plan on doing with her?"

"Actually," Rias jumps in "We have both agreed to be married."

"Well well," the interviewer says with a carnivorous glint in his eyes "this _is_ interesting news. Please, Lady Rias, do tell us the details."

"Issei and I have both agreed to wait until a graduate from a college in the human world. Once I do graduate, we will begin planning a wedding."

Infigo looks rather surprised at this piece of information.

"And you have no problems with this, Lord Hyoudou?" He asks.

"Actually," I say, "it was my idea. One of the reasons that Rias was opposed to marrying the young Lord Phenex as because it was in violation of a promise made by Lord and Lady Gremory that she would be able to finish her schooling. For as long as I've known her, Rias wanted to experience a relatively human life, which includes going to college. And I don't see any reason to restrict her."

He jots down the information I said, nodding as he takes the notes and grinning to himself.

"Now, Lord Hyoudou, why did you decide to challenge Lord Phenex to a duel?"

"Mr. Infigo, I believe that in order to take, one must first give. By that, I simply mean that should anybody wish to obtain something - or someone, in this case - they must first achieve feats worthy of that which they desire. Young Raiser, in my opinion, has never done anything worthy of Rias' hand in marriage."

"B-but Lord Hyoudou, Lord Raiser has never been defeated in the rating game arena! Surely his victories may have counted for something!"

"Mr. Infigo, one's merits on the field of battle are merely a small part of their character. While it is true that young Raiser has accumulated numerous victories in the game arena, none of his victories were by his hand. Most of his wins were achieved without him actually entering the field of combat himself; and even when he does, he often uses underhanded tactics to force his opponent into surrendering."

"And you feel that you're different?"

"One thing that most underworld media seemed to focus on a few years ago was that I returned my family to its position of prominence. I did that alone. Until recently, I did not have any members of my peerage; everything I did, I did alone. I don't claim to be worthy of Rias' hand, but I have certainly done much more than him."

"However," Rias interjects "due to his performance in the past, as well as the result of his fight with Raiser, I have decided that Issei is more than suitable to marry me."

"Thank you for that, both of you." Infigo says. "Now, it is common knowledge that Lord Hyoudou has moved into Kuoh; Lady Gremory, does your engagement have any part in his relocation?"

"I don't believe so. Issei moved into Kuoh before I was even aware of his plans to fight Raiser."

"So, do you believe that this is all a plan to take control of the land you control?"

"Actually," I interrupt "she was never in control of Kuoh. The town of Kuoh, as well as the surrounding area, has been under the control of the Andromalius clan for generations; but I temporarily allowed the Sitri and Gremory families to set up a hold in the town. However, now that I have decided to settle down, I am reclaiming control of the territory."

"Then what is going to happen to Lady Sitri and Lady Rias?"

"As far as I'm concerned, they can stay as long as they wish. The two of them have ties to the citizens of the town, so it would arouse suspicion if they and their peerages were to suddenly disappear. Also, they and I are on good terms, so I see no reason to evict them from the territory."

"Thank you, Lord Hyoudou; I do believe that we are finished here. I don't doubt that you're going to have a lot of appearances from here on out; I'll go ahead and let you leave."

Infigo stands up, bows, and leaves.

"Well then," I say "that went better than expected."

I stand up and pull Rias up next to me. Rias takes my arm once again and the two of us walk outside into the hallway. Once we get to the entrance of the building, a magic circle appears in front of me, and a small hologram of Raynare appears.

"What's up?" I ask.

"You have a message from one of the higher ups, apparently a stray has taken up residence in Kuoh; and they want us to take care of it." She says.

"Oh, alright. We'll move out at dusk, gather everybody in the den; I'll need to explain things to you all. It's your first stray hunt, and I don't want anybody to get hurt."

The magic circle dispels, leaving an awkward silence between Rias and I.

"Sorry," I say, turning to her "but I have to go. You know how those strays are. I'll make it up to you tomorrow, okay?"

She nods and squeezes my hand.

"Just be careful, okay?"

"I'll be fine." I say, walking forward and teleporting way.

* * *

My peerage is spread around the den. Kalawarner and Mittelt are sitting side by side on the main couch, while Ray is lounging on the armrest. Asia, however, is standing nervously next to Raynare. I'm standing across from the three of them, leaning on a wall.

"Well, looks like we're going to have to go to work tonight." I say, pushing back against the wall and fully standing up.

"Issei, what's going on? This had better be important." Mittelt snaps.

"There's a stray devil that's set up shop in town. We were requested to take care of it; and I think that it's a good idea for you guys to get combat experience. This is your first stray hunt, so I figured that it'd be smart for everybody to be involved."

"I-I think that it's a wonderful idea, Ise-san!" Asia pipes up.

"I suppose that it's understandable." Kalawarner says. "If we're going to be fighting together now, it's only logical that we learn how to fight as a unit."

Mittelt stands up, and walks over to my side.

"Well? It's almost dark. Shouldn't we be going?" she says, though she sounds slightly bitter.

"Is it? Wow, I thought it was earlier." I gesture to the rest of my peerage. "Well, she's right. We should move out."

I leave the room and the others follow me outside. We gather together and I teleport us to the front of an abandoned warehouse near the residential district of town.

"The higher ups have decided that this devil is a threat to the area; and were are to take it out before it can cause any damage to the town or attacking any civilians. Seeing as they haven't done any actions that put the town in immediate danger yet, I'm going to let you all handle this alone. Before we get started though, we need to talk about combat positions."

I stand in front of the group and start to explain.

"Asia, you're position of a bishop grants you a massive boost to magical power, and coupled with your sacred gear's nature, you're main purpose is going to be support. All you have to do is heal anybody who's been injured. Kalawarner, your knight piece gives you a boost to speed, focus on high speed attacks that have more of a focus on precision than power. Aim for a weak spot, get in, hit fast, and get out. Mittelt, you're the exact opposite. Your bishop piece grants you massive physical strength and unparalleled defensive prowess. Seeing as I don't have any pawns, you're going to be the front line troop. Keep them distracted while doing as much damage as possible. Ray, you're second only to me in terms of overall power. You are a culmination of the perks of every piece in the set, just do what you do best."

She smiles at me sweetly as I step towards the building.

"Well then, I want to see how well you all work together, so I'll be sitting this one out. The target hasn't done anything prompting any great haste, so we can take our time. Just don't screw this up. Any questions?"

Before they can respond, a feminine scream that sounds slightly familiar penetrates the air.

"Oh shit, there's somebody in there!" I shout as I launch into the building at top speed. "Change of plans! Rescuing the hostage takes top priority!"

I blast through the doors of the building and take a combative stance. In the center of the building, a woman is suspended from the ceiling, tied up and hanging by her ankles.

"H-Hyoudou-kun?" she says worriedly. "Hyoudou-kun, run! Something's down there, get out while you still can!"

"Oh, but that's why he's here, girlie!" rasps a vaguely feminine voice from the shadows. A woman steps out from the shadows in the other side of the building. Her nude body is only visible from the waist up, but she seems to be a little bit high off of the ground. "I must say, I wish that you'd let me know you were coming, I'm afraid that I don't quite have enough dinner to share with a group your size. She may be succulent, but she doesn't have a lot of meat on her."

I step forward, summoning my boosted gear gauntlet as my peerage forms up behind me.

"A-Amano-san, Asia-chan? What are you doing here? Run!" The girl shouts from the ceiling.

"Murayama-san!" Asia cries worriedly. "Ise-san, we have to hurry!"

"I'm assuming that you're Viser, the stray devil." I call out. "I'll give you two options, let the girl go and die quickly." I step forward again and shot a bolt of fire at the ground in front of her. "Or resist; and suffer."

She moves fully out of the darkness, and I reel back in shock. The reason that she was so high off the ground was because of her monstrous lower half. Instead of something even vaguely humanoid, her entire lower body is comprised of some form of beast. The skeletal structure, that is clearly visible under the taught skin, resembles that of some large cat, similar to a lion, but much larger in scale. Her four legs end in claws each about the size of a large child, and they appear to be razor sharp.

"You little shit! Who the hell do you think you are?!" She screeches as she moves forward, stomping down at me with one of her legs.

"Ray," I order as I jump out of the way "Get Murayama out of here, I'll take care of the stray."

"Ise-"

"Raynare, that is an order! Asia, go with her and make sure that Murayama's unharmed. Mittelt, Kalawarner, you're with me."

"Understood!" Kalawarner shouts as she dashes ahead and stabs Viser's leg with a light spear. Blood spurts from the wound as Viser collapses to her knee. However, before we can celebrate landing an attack, Viser rises to her feet.

"Nice try, bitch!" she snarls as she slashes at Kalawarner with her claws. Before her attack can land, I jump in the way and hold out my arm, catching Viser's foot in my armored hand.

"Hyoudou-kun!" Murayama shrieks from behind me.

"Raynare, what did I tell you?! Get her clear!" I shout as I grip down and deliver a hammer fist with my free hand, cracking several of the bones in her foot. Unfortunately, the bones in her bestial legs are rather thick, and they actually cause a small amount of damage to my hand.

She rises up again, but this time she keeps off of her damaged foot.

"You know," I taunt "it's kind of a shame. You've actually got a pretty great body. But I'm afraid that your little problem down below just ruins the whole effect. Here, let me take care of it for you!" I launch myself at her and land a rather powerful punch to a large gem in the center of her bestial lower half.

She reels back, coughing up blood and falling over.

I walk up to her and stomp on her throat.

"Any last requests?"

"K-Kill me." She groans.

"As you wish." I snarl as I rip her head from her body and incinerate her corpse.

I walk back to the rear of the building to where Asia is healing Murayama's small injuries.

I kneel down beside Murayama.

"Rough night?" I ask jokingly.

"Hyoudou-kun, what the hell is going on?!"

"Murayama-san, are you familiar with the supernatural. Like angels, demons, youkai, and the like?"

She nods, but looks at me quizzically. "Yeah, but they can't possibly be real, right"

"Sorry to disappoint, but it's all true. And what you just saw was something called a stray devil."

"Hyoudou-kun, what the hell is going on?"

"Calm down, Murayama-san. If you want me to explain it more, you can come back to my house with me. I'll explain everything once we're there."

"B-but I need to get back to my home, my parents are probably worried sick!"

"I understand, but you and I need to have a little chat. I'll lend you my phone, so call them and say you're staying late at a friend's house or something; but I'm afraid that I can't let you leave until I clarify something about the two of us."

I reach into my pocket and take out a cell phone. Turning it on and unlocking it, I pull up the dial pad and hand it to her.

"I recommend that you don't say anything that might cause trouble." I threaten ominously.

She calls her parents and, true to my threat, tells them that she's staying the night to study with her friend for an upcoming test.

The group walks back from the warehouse, we couldn't teleport with a non-supernatural entity with us, so we were forced to walk. I suppose that it could be worse, at least none of us were too injured by the fight.

Murayama gasps when we arrive in front of my house; it's understandable, seeing as most other teenagers don't own a home of this size.

We enter the sitting room, and I pour Murayama a cup of tea.

"Sorry about being so rude earlier," I say handing her the cup "but it was the only way to make sure that you'd come with me. I'm sure that you have a litany of questions, so let's get started."

"Yeah, I guess you could say that. Hyoudou-kun, what the hell just happened?!"

"I told you before about the supernatural world, and that was part of it. Basically, the way the devil society of hell is structured is very similar to feudal Japan and Europe. Higher class individuals have servants who work under them. The _thing_ that captured you is called a stray. Basically, it's a devil that rebelled against its master. This one, Viser, apparently had a taste for human flesh; and you had the misfortune of being the main course."

"Okay, so where do you fit in to all this?"

"Actually, I'm the head of one of the leading families of hell. One of my jobs is to hunt down strays when they enter my territory, hence why I took on Viser tonight."

"Then Asia-chan and Amano-san are two of the devils working under you?"

"In a way. Asia was actually born a human, but the story of how she came to me is rather long, and I'm not going to tell it without her permission. Basically, Asia died, and I brought her back to life. Unlike most members of my peerage –that's the name of the group that serves directly under me- she has no obligation to serve me. I resurrected her just so that she could live a normal life; because she definitely was due for a break from the living hell she was forced to go through."

"And Amano-san?"

"That actually involves my back-story, which I doubt that you'd like to hear. Long story short, I'm a half-devil, half-human hybrid; and was raised by Fallen Angels."

"I thought that fallen angels were just a type of devil." She says confusedly.

"Not quite. Devils and Fallen Angels are actually two completely different species. The Fallen Angels are former Angels that fell due to worldly desires that went against the creed of angels. Devils are creations of the first fallen angel, Lucifer, caused by the corruption of other angels and human souls. However, soon, devils stopped being created by corrupting Angels, due to the massively growing population of humans being corrupted. A long time ago, Devils stop corrupting souls altogether, because their numbers were so great and the portion of the underworld they controlled was becoming overpopulated. Makes sense?"

She nods hesitantly.

"Great. Basically, Raynare – Sorry, Yuuma – was a fallen angel; and the two of us grew up together."

"I thought that you said that Fallen Angels were created when Angels fell? How could you two grow up together if she was a full grown angel?"

"Actually, she wasn't. Raynare is only a few years older than I am, she is one of the first children of two fallen angels; and was actually never in heaven to begin with."

"So Amano-san is a Fallen Angel?"

"Actually she isn't. A few days ago, I reincarnated her as a devil into my peerage."

"I guess it makes sense…"

"You're taking this awfully well. I expected you to be freaking out about all of this."

"After everything I've been through, this isn't really very surprising."

"I guess that's understandable. Well then, I guess that's it for now. Go ahead and pick any room that doesn't have a nameplate on the door."

"Wait, don't you want to, like, erase my memory or something?" she asks worriedly.

"I don't see why I have to. The way I see it, you have a few options now that you know. I _can_ rewrite your memories, but I'd rather not; it requires me to delve all the way into your head, and I don't want to pry into your personal life. You could also join us; I could reincarnate you and you could come to work for me. You have a lot of potential, I can tell, and with a little bit of training, you could become one of the greatest swordsmen in the underworld. Or, we could walk away and pretend that none of this ever happened. As long as you don't tell anybody, and I mean _anybody_ about us, there's no reason that anybody has to know about this. Of course, I'll have to keep an eye on you, but it won't be too much more than what we have in class."

"I-I think I'll go with the third option. I don't think I'd like to get involved with this kind of thing."

"I completely understand; I don't blame you in the slightest. Just know that the second offer will always stand; I'll have a place for you if you ever want to join up."

She nods and stands up. She walks up the stairs as I walk into the kitchen and pour myself a glass of sake to help take the edge off; I certainly need it.

* * *

AN:

Chapter 16 has arrived! At this point, I've officially planned out a majority of Issei's peerage. One problem, though, is that there aren't enough characters to go around between both Issei and Rias' peerages; so I think that I'll have to pull random characters to fill the numerical gaps.

As always, I'd be happy to know anything you have to say about the story, so feel free to leave a review or send me a PM if you have any questions, comments, or concerns. I'd honestly love to see where you all would like to see this story go; and I'll do what I can to include some of your ideas on what you'd like to see.

Expect a new chapter by the end of next month, and it should get rather interesting; we're starting the Excalibur arc!

Somebody is probably going to say it, so I'm going to address the Viser fight. In the story, it didn't actually impact anything, so I could technically move it pretty much anywhere I wanted (or exclude it entirely) without impacting the overall story too much. However, I do like how the fight was used to explain the combat system of the Evil Pieces, so I decided to keep it, but add a part of it that somehow advances the story (If you didn't figure it out, Murayama is joining up in the near future).


	18. Chapter 17

While I'm sitting in the kitchen nursing my glass of sake, a magic circle flashes on the other side of the counter and Rias warps into the room.

"I'm judging by the alcohol that things didn't go too well?" She says hesitantly, walking around the counter and taking a position next to my side.

"You could say that." I say nondescriptly.

"What happened?!" she shouts worriedly.

"None of the others got hurt, if that's what you're worried about." I explain, "But Viser had a hostage."

"Viser?"

"The stray."

"They had a hostage?! Who?! What happened to them?!"

"Her name's Murayama. Kaori Murayama, she's in my class at school."

"From the way you're talking, I can assume she's alive."

"Actually, she's upstairs. Once we found out that Viser had a hostage, the team switched priorities to recovery over elimination. Naturally, she had questions, and I was more than happy to oblige."

"And you didn't wipe her memories?!" She yells angrily.

"Didn't feel like it." I reply bluntly. "I'm interested in adding her to my peerage – dibs, by the way – and I thought that it'd be a good way to get her comfortable."

"Did she accept?"

"No, but I'm hoping that she will soon."

"But how do you know that she isn't going talk?"

"Rias, I'm not an idiot." I say angrily, "I'm having Raynare keep an eye on her until she accepts, asks me to wipe her memory, or dies."

"And what are you going to do is she never forgets and doesn't join you?"

"That's not an option, Rias. I like to think I'm a master of human psychology; and I can assure you that within the month, she will either join me or beg me to wipe her memory."

"What are you going to do?"

"Me? I'm not going to do anything! The human mind is a powerful thing, and she's going to do it all to herself. Now that Murayama-san knows about the existence of the supernatural world, and has had a run in with one of its more dangerous elements, she's going to start feeling insecure. As you're aware, Kuoh is rather involved with the supernatural, what with it housing three devil peerages, as well as quite a few different youkai. Everything she sees that's even _slightly_ related to us is going to set her off, and with it comes the memories of her time as a hostage."

"You're forcing her to you!" Rias exclaims angrily.

"No, I'm not. I'm not like Raiser; her joining me isn't the only option. I offered to rewrite her memory, and she declined, that's all on her. If she decides that she can't handle it anymore, then I'd be happy to rewrite it for her; and she's well aware that I'm willing to accept her if she wants to join."

"Can you promise that you're not going to fabricate circumstances to push her to you?"

"Of course, Rias." I say reassuringly. "I'm a devil, not a monster. "

"Now that she knows, she's more likely to attract the attention of other Youkai and devils, especially Sona. What are you going to do if something happens?"

"I told you before: I'm having Ray watch her. If something happens, then Ray'll call me and I'll take care of it personally. I can assure you that no harm will come to her, call it pride."

"And what are you going to do if she talks to someone?" She asks worriedly.

"It's best if you don't worry about that." I tell her cryptically. "It's not very fun. Rest assured that I'm on top of this, you've got nothing to worry about."

I stand up, putting my glass in the sink and walking out the door. "Now, it's been a long night, and I'd rather not be up until morning. I'm assuming that you'll be with me tonight?"

She nods, moving to follow me upstairs. I guess things are just going to be like this, then; it could be worse.

The two of us walk up to my bedroom, and are surprised to see Asia and Raynare already lying asleep in the bed.

"Sorry, Rias." I whisper behind me, "Looks like you were beat to the punch."

She lets out a small huff of anger and enters the room with me, stripping as I climb carefully into the bed so as not to wake the others.

"Must you?" I whisper harshly as she undoes her bra. "You're going to give Asia a heart attack!"

"I can't sleep without clothes on, you know that!" She replies just as harshly.

"Fine, it's too late to have to go through all this anyway." I groan, conceding the argument and collapsing onto the bed.

I feel Rias climb up beside me and cradle me close to her chest like some form of hug pillow or stuffed animal; looks like I'm not going to be getting any sleep tonight.

About six hours of me lying absolutely still, the sun rises and everybody wakes up.

"Buchou-san? What are you doing here?!" Asia exclaims.

"Oh? Good morning, Asia." Rias says sleepily. "I hope you don't mind my borrowing Issei for the night."

"You never answered her question." Grunts Raynare angrily.

"Oh, well I didn't think I had to!" Rias replies sharply, "After all, we _are_ engaged. Though that does raise the question: why are _you_ here?"

"I-I…"

"Could you both just shut the hell up?" I groan as I pull myself up from the bed. "It's been a long night, and I could do without these shenanigans in the morning. I'm going to make a pot of coffee, I expect you both to be out of my room by the time I get back."

"Ise-san? Are you okay?"

"Sorry, Asia. Long night. It's nothing personal; I just need some time to get rid of this headache."

Without giving any of them time to react, I walk outside the room and into the kitchen below. I'm surprised to see Murayama sitting at the table, already dressed and looking ready to leave.

"G-Good Morning, Hyoudou-kun." She yelps.

"You're still here?" I ask groggily "I assumed you'd try to get away as fast as possible."

"O-Oh, well, if I'm an inconvenience…"

"Not in the slightest, Murayama-san, stay as long as you'd like. Coffee?"

"No, I don't really drink coffee."

"More for me, then."

I lean back against the counter as the coffee brews, the smell giving me the spark I need start functioning fully.

"A-Actually, Hyoudou-kun, I have a few questions."

"Shoot. And you can call me Issei, by the way. Trust me, we've reached that point."

She chuckles.

"Well then, Hyou- Issei-kun, you said before that I wasn't supposed to tell anybody about all of this…"

"No."

"What?"

"Let me guess: 'This is all just so much to take on at one time! May I please tell _at least_ one person about this, just so I can find a way to cope with it?'"

I step forward and lean on the counter.

"But," I continue "I'm afraid it doesn't work like that. See, this is actually more for their safety than anything else. You already know about me, but Kuoh is absolutely chock-full of all kinds of supernatural crap; and anybody finding out increases their risk of being noticed by something that isn't as nice as I am."

"So I'm in danger of attack?!" She panics.

"Absolutely not!" I reassure her "I'll have somebody guarding you at all hours of the day, be it me or one of my subordinates. I let you choose to keep your memories, and so it's my responsibility to guarantee your safety until the matter is resolved."

"What do you mean, 'the matter is resolved?'"

"Well, and trust me when I say I don't mean to sound like a jackass, but this can only end in one of three ways: You asking me to wipe your memories – which I'll happily do, you joining me or someone else – that offer still stands, by the way, or you dying."

She takes a step back.

"Don't worry, Murayama-san, when I say you dying, I mean it as something I can't stop. You being sick, an accident, age, that kind of thing. You have my word that nothing supernatural will kill you."

"But, just because you're guarding me doesn't mean that the stuff isn't there, right?"

"Well, that much is obvious. Our protecting you won't just make the others blink out of existence, we're just a line of defense that you've got at all times; but the danger itself never goes away completely, it's just lessened."

The coffee machine beeps behind me, startling me and causing me to jump a bit in place; which breaks the tension and causes Murayama to start laughing.

"Well, that kind of hurts my image, doesn't it?" I joke, pouring myself a mug of coffee and taking a deep gulp.

"Maybe so, but it's not something to be embarrassed about, Issei-kun."

"If you say so. Anyway, I'm going to head back upstairs. I'll arrange things so that you can be excused today if you don't want to go to school, but you might want to get ready otherwise, we need to leave in about an hour."

"Oh! I'd completely forgotten about school! I guess it's a good thing I still have my uniform, huh?"

"So, I take it you're going?"

She nods.

"Well then, I'm going upstairs to get ready. If you want, you can leave with the rest of us; or you can head out on your own."

I place my mug in the sink and go back upstairs to my bedroom. Casting out my senses, I can detect one life force in the room, but it's unlike the three that were inside previously.

I conjure up my boosted gear and burst through the door, scanning the room. However, I can't seem to see anybody.

"This is a warning." I call out locking onto the area the aura is originating, "If you don't make yourself visible within the next five seconds you will be treated as a threat and eliminated with extreme prejudice."

As I finish talking, the area in front of my bed shimmers as a woman's body comes into sight.

"Why can't I have any fun these days, nya?" The woman pouts, flopping down on the bed.

"Well, it might be because you absolutely refuse to hide your aura." I walk to the closet and pull out my school uniform.

"So, Kuroka," I say, turning around and putting on my clothes, "what brings you to my home?"

She drops her joking demeanor and takes on a more serious aspect.

"I… I heard that you've seen Shirone."

"I have." I say cautiously.

"How is she doing?"

"Kuroka, I told you before and I'll tell you again: I'm not going to solve your problem for you. If you're worried about the implications of meeting her while you're still on the run, don't be. I've accumulated enough favors with all the leaders to pull for your charges being dropped. I know why you did what you did, so I've got your back."

"She won't just talk to me after everything that's happened!"

"And how do you know?" I fire back, "Last I checked you haven't seen her in years. Completely warranted, I agree, but still…"

"Issei…"

"Kuroka, I've got your back, and I'll always help you out when you need it; but this is the kind of thing that you need to do for yourself. Just lay low for a few weeks. You'll be able to tell when we're all set."

Fully dressed, I grab my bag and walk towards the door.

"Now, if you don't mind, I have to go to school. Mask your presence and leave as soon as I'm gone; it'd cause trouble if you get caught."

I walk downstairs and feel Kuroka's energy completely disappear.

"Ise," Raynare says, siding up against me and leaning in close, "what, exactly, was a known felon doing in your bedroom?"

"Don't worry about it; and I don't appreciate you talking about my friends like that."

"But still, do you have any idea how dangerous it is to be associated with her?"

"I do, but I believe the rewards far outweigh the risks; so I went with it anyway. Any more questions, or would you like to let me get to school?"

She grunts angrily and pulls off of me as Asia and Murayama walk into the foyer.

"G-Gremory-Senpai?! Why are you in Hyou- Issei-kun's house?!"

"Well," she says, taking a position to my left and grabbing my arm, "I've been informed that you know what we are, so I don't see the point in hiding it: Issei and I are to be married, so it's only natural for us to be together."

"M-m-married?! Issei-kun, what does she mean?!"

"Remember how I told you yesterday how devil society was like feudal Europe?"

She nods blankly.

"That includes political marriages. Like me, Rias is a member of one of the seventy-two most powerful families in hell, and they're all about 'blood purity' and maintaining the family names, that means that she's only allowed to marry other pillar-those are the families – members. Her previous fiancé left much to be desired, so I stepped in and… what's a nice way to put this... I objected to the union. Obviously, the devils wouldn't stand for her not being engaged, so our engagement is really just a tool to placate them. Now, if you don't mind, we're going to be late."

I turn around and leave the building, walking towards the school at a brisk pace to make sure I'm not late. Behind me, I can hear the others scramble to catch up with me, which only prompts me to move faster.

* * *

When we get near the school, I notice something rather odd. Standing in front of the gate are two men wearing a set of white robes, one of the two has something rather large strapped to his back, but I can't tell what it is due to it being wrapped in cloth. As we draw closer, I can make out the finer detailing on the cloaks, and can see the telltale cross embroidery on the hoods marking them as members of the church.

"Murayama-san," I say, stopping suddenly, "You go on ahead; things might get a little bit hairy for an outsider. Rias, it's best if you do to."

"Why, what's going on?" Rias asks.

I point at the men in front of me.

"Them. See if you can get Sona to excuse both our groups, we need to have a discussion with them as soon as possible. Gather your peerage in the club room if you can."

"Exorcists? Here? I understand." She says, dashing off through the gates and presumably to meet with Sona.

I walk forwards with my hands slightly raised, my palms facing outward. To an outsider, it probably just looks like I'm stretching, but to the trained eye – which I hope they have – they can see the gesture means that I mean them no harm.

"Good morning," I say as I approach them, "I assume you're not here for a spot of tea?"

"My name is Xenovia Quarta," one of them –who's surprisingly female- says bluntly, "I demand that you take me to speak with your leader at once."

"Mou, Xenovia, that's no way to speak to our host, devil or not!" the other one –also a woman – says.

"My name is Issei Hyoudou, current leader of house Andromalius. You won't find anybody here with more authority than me. I recommend you show some respect, exorcist."

"Nonetheless, we need to talk." Xenovia says "Show us to your lair."

"Lair? Well that's a little rude." I say. "You said you're name's Quarta, right? I'd expect a relative of Griselda to have better manners."

"How do you know that name?" She snarls.

"In due time, my friend." I say condescendingly "Now, didn't you want to meet with me. I don't know much about a lair, but I do have a clubroom that's rather nice; why not there?"

The two of them nod, following me inside the gates and to the clubhouse in which the Occult Research Clubroom is located. For the entire duration of the short journey, the rude one – Xenovia – for some reason could not keep her eyes off of Asia.

Once we're situated in the clubroom, Rias, Akeno, Kiba, and Koneko enter the room. Upon seeing the church members, Kiba's face immediately hardens and he begins to let off a very dangerous aura.

"Well then," Rias says as she sits down at her desk, "why don't we get down to business?"

"I agree." Xenovia says.

"Well then, what might you two be doing in my territory?" I inquire, "And why did you feel the need to come to me?"

"Are you familiar with the fragments of the holy sword, Excalibur?" the other one asks.

"There isn't a devil alive who doesn't know about those swords." I say solemnly. "What of them?"

"Recently, there has been a break-in at various church headquarters in Europe. Of the seven shards of Excalibur, three were stolen. We believe this crime was conducted by the fallen angel cadre Kokabiel, and have traced the blades to this city." she tells us.

"And we are here requesting that the devils do not interfere with our operation to recover them." The other one bluntly states.

"Well," I say, standing up and beginning to pace, "I suppose I can understand why. After all, if anybody would want to get rid of an Excalibur fragment, it'd be us. But I can assure you that no devil in this city has any intention of stealing one of your little toys. And as for us 'not interfering', I'm afraid I cannot abide by that."

Xenovia stands up in anger, placing her hand on the package at her side.

"Let me finish, exorcist." I snarl. "This is my hometown, and you're taking on a Cadre, as well as whatever followers he's managed to amass. We will not aid in either sides attempt to harm each other, but we _will_ be conducting damage control, which might involve us stopping you if you put any civilians or property at risk."

"Know your place, devil!"

"I'm sorry? Ms. Exorcist, don't let yourself forget by whose good graces you're here on. One word from me, and I can get you out of here faster than you can say 'crucify'. Now, I don't want to do that, the factions are close to peace, and I'd rather not disrupt the path. My main worry is that you aren't ready to take this on alone."

"Excuse me, Lord Hyoudou," the other asks politely, "but do you honestly not think that the two of us aren't enough to take on a fallen angel and some stray priests?"

"Of course I'm not, but, miss… I'm sorry, I don't know your name."

"Irina. Irina Shidou."

"Thank you. As I was saying, Ms. Shidou, I have no doubt that you'd be able to do the job alone if it were just a fallen; but this is Kokabiel we're talking about, as well as three Excalibur fragments, I'd be surprised if either of you managed to survive if you went in alone."

"Who says we're alone?" Xenovia claims haughtily, "We just so happen to have an angel guarding us?"

"You do? Please, do elaborate." I say, incredibly interested in the conversation.

"I do not know his name, but he appeared to us two years ago when we were on our first assignment."

I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this.

"Of course, when he appeared, we were under attack by devils, so I accidentally-"

"Stabbed him in the stomach?" I finish.

"H-how did you know?" Xenovia stutters, all the color draining from her face.

I start to cackle manically.

"Well, I never thought I'd see you again. Amsterdam, two years ago, church of Saint Nicolas." I say. "Though I must say that it's rather presumptuous of you to outright call me an angel. I'm flattered, of course, but I'm afraid it's quite obvious that I'm somebody of a more… devilish persuasion."

"B-Blasphemy!" Xenovia shouts.

"Afraid not. But does it honestly matter? If it helps you sleep at night, then know that I was hired by Michael himself: so he at least recognizes you from the rest of the exorcists; there must be something special about the two of you to draw his attention."

Xenovia collapses on the couch, all remnants of color drained from her face, looking deathly pale.

"Now, I don't think it's that important." I say, sitting back down. "In fact, if anything you owe me for almost killing me. Not even considering the fact that I'm the very reason that you're alive."

"L-Lord Hyoudou, both Xenovia and I would appreciate it if you stopped." Irina says, looking rather unsettled, though not to the levels of Xenovia.

"Of course, what kind of host would I be if I made my guests uncomfortable?" I smoothly reply.

"Ms. Exorcist," Rias says "I would like to make it known that you may call on my aid at any time."

"Same with me." I say, "I'll always be happy to teach Kokabiel a lesson."

"I appreciate your offer, Lady Gremory, Lord Hyoudou," Irina says, "but I don't think that we should side with the devils on something such as this, I'm afraid it goes against our moral code."

From the back corner of the room, Kiba lets out a stiff laugh. "Morality? Since when have you Churchfolk given a damn about morality? Since when has the church _ever_ done anything befitting the title of proper or moral? The crusades? Oh, how about the holy sword project?" He snarls bitterly.

Xenovia stands up, enraged, though Irina stops her, and holds her back from what appears a desire to attack the errant knight.

"I'm sorry about my partner's behavior." Irina says, trying to pull Xenovia back down to the couch, "but she doesn't take well to people criticizing the church. I understand what you may think, but you need to understand that the entire story of the 'holy sword project' is just rumors that hell capitalized on to turn you people against us."

"I'm not entirely sure if you're lying to me, or if that's honestly what you believe." Kiba growls. "I can testify with absolute certainty that your evil project was real."

"And on what authority do you make those claims, devil?" Xenovia replies with equal malice.

"My name is Yuuto Kiba, and I am the sole survivor of the project. When things didn't work out, your people decided to cover their tracks, and killed all of my comrades, my friends. I swore to them, and I swear to you now, that I _will_ destroy every filthy holy sword I come across."

Kiba steps forwards, summoning a sword in one hand and advancing on the exorcists with absolute hatred in his eyes. As he does this, Xenovia reaches to the package at her side and picks it up, allowing the wrapping to fall away and revealing one of the largest swords I've ever seen a human wield.

Before further violence breaks out, I step in and bring a fist down on Kiba's wrist, knocking the sword from his grasp.

"Now, now. I'd like to avoid any further unpleasantries. Ms. Exorcist, Kiba, I have an idea: both Rias and I will abide by your request, so long as you let Kiba here destroy one of the holy swords we recover."

"How dare you!"

"Ms. Xenovia," I say threateningly, "I suggest that you reconsider your options. Surely having one sword destroyed is preferable to Kokabiel possessing three."

"Never!"

"How about this then: one of you two will go up against either Kiba or I in a sparring bout. Obviously, this is going to be to the first blow, and I'll ask you not to use any holy weaponry, that could kill him in an instant. If he wins, then it will be as I said, he can destroy one of your swords, and we will only intervene if you request so, or if your bout poses a threat to the city. If you win, then we won't interfere, and you can keep the swords. Sound fair?"

The two of them let out a grunt of affirmation.

"Splendid." I say sarcastically. "We can have the fight after school hours. As for the rest of you, I advise you get to class."

As Rias' peerage files out of the room, Xenovia walks up to Asia, who's standing behind the couch opposite them.

"Pardon me, but are you the heretic witch Asia Argento?"

Asia jumps up in surprise.

"Of course she's not!" Irina says from behind her, "There's no way that an ex-nun would become a _devil_."

"A-Actually, I am Asia." Asia replies, hanging her head slightly.

"To think that a saint has become a devil." Xenovia says scornfully, "Tell me, do you still believe in our god?"

Asia looks up, but Irina jumps in before she can respond.

"There's _no way_ she could believe in god, not if she became a devil! Come on, Xenovia, nothing like _that_ could ever still believe in god!"

I step forwards angrily, but before I can do anything brash, Raynare pulls me back.

"It'd be bad if you made a scene, Ise. Just let this play out, nothing too bad can come from it." She whispers to me.

"I do still believe in god." Asia tells them, sounding incredibly ashamed.

"I suppose even a blasphemous heretic can still retain some semblance of faith." Xenovia mutters.

She draws her sword, facing Asia with undisguised malice in her eyes. "If you still believe in our lord, you should allow me to smite you right now as atonement for your sin!"

I summon my gauntlet and step forwards angrily.

"Listen here, you bitch!" I snarl. "If you touch one hair on her head, I will rend you limb from fucking limb, clear?!"

Before she can snap out of her shocked state, I grab the sword from her hand and throw it across the room. In the few seconds my hand was on the hilt, my skin was already blistering from the holy power imbued in the sword.

"You think that it makes you righteous? Killing somebody who only wanted to live a _normal_ life? _That's_ what your 'years of tutelage under the lord' taught you? Whatever happened to 'love thy neighbor'? The way you two act it's more like 'say you tolerate thy neighbor, then burn their house down in the dead of night', well excuse me if I don't exactly support you on this!"

"Watch yourself, devil." Xenovia says, attempting to sound threatening.

"Oh, what are you going to do? Preach me to death? I didn't have any problems with you coming into my territory uninvited, I didn't even mind you insulting _me_ that much, but you stay the hell away from my friends."

"I was not insulting her." Xenovia replies coldly, "I was merely doing my duty as a woman of faith."

"A woman of faith? Don't you get it? You were sent here _to die_! You may care about your faith, but your faith doesn't give two shits about you. Asia learned _that_ the hard way."

"Ise-san, please, stop!" Asia says from behind me.

"No. If you're not going to stand up for yourself, then I'm going to do it for you."

Turning my attention back to the exorcists, I can see that they both look rather disturbed; looks like my work's paying off.

"What do you mean? How were we sent here to die?" Irina asks hysterically.

"Well, isn't it obvious?" I say, "It doesn't matter that you two have fragments; the fact remains that you're two _teenage_ exorcists going after a ten-wing fallen angel cadre. He could kill you both without even blinking! You're both nothing but cannon fodder; a pair of martyrs, if you like. My guess is that once you're dead, the Vatican is going to storm this area with troops and wipe out both us and Kokabiel, saying that we were together or some bullshit."

"B-Blasphemy!" Xenovia shouts, "The church would never do something like that!"

"Really? The church wouldn't discard somebody because they outlived their usefulness? They've never betrayed any subordinates before? Face it, exorcists, you're _nothing_ to them."

While I say this, I jerk my head backwards, indicating that I'm referring to Asia.

"'Oh, she's a heretic!' 'She betrayed us!' 'It is our duty to kill her as women of faith!'" I bit off, using air quotations and sounding rather condescending. "All Asia did was heal somebody. She saw somebody injured on the side of the road and she helped them, _like all your little teachings told her to._ And then it turned out that he was a devil, and she was betrayed. Your buddies up in the attic decided that her ability, which was given to her _by god_ , was witchcraft. She didn't ask to be reincarnated, I did it myself! You leave her out of this, you hear me?"

By the time I finish my rant, the two of them are in such a state of shock that Irina has slumped back on the couch, and Xenovia has to lean on the back of it to steady herself.

"We're done here." I grunt as I storm out of the room, slamming the doors behind me.

* * *

AN: I've been sitting on this for a few days, mainly because I didn't like the way the last part (Issei's rant) was. Finally, though, I think I got it right. The way I see it, the Issei in this story kind of sees what he could have been in Asia, so naturally he's going to be really defensive of her; he also has a bit of a hair-trigger, so I thought that the rant was due.

If you didn't figure it out, Kuroka is going to be a member of Issei's peerage (though not a as a bishop, but I'll leave you to figure that out yourself), as is Murayama. If you didn't pick it up, Issei and Xenovia do _not_ get along, and I'm not entirely sure I'm going to change this. I'll elaborate in future chapters, but just let it be known that Issei isn't a fan of the church (again, I'll get into it later), so I kind of want to use Xenovia and Irina to play off of that and expand on it further.

As for the whole "you've been sent to die" thing, that's just something that bothered me when I was reading the books and watching the show, Kokabiel is a ten-wing fallen, and yet the Vatican decides to send two teenagers after him; it just didn't make much sense to me.

As always, feel free to let me know what you think about how this turned out, as well as what you might want to see in the future, I'm always open to see what you've got to think.


	19. Chapter 18

**AN:** Hello, I don't have much in the way of preemptive announcements, so I'll get straight to responses:

Allentey: Issei is a human-devil hybrid. Due to this, he's not a fully acknowledge member of the 72 pilliars (they're anal about blood purity), but he kinda brute forced his way on. More on this later.

Allentey (part 2): I completely agree that it doesn't have a very good flow, and I'm working to fix that. I said so earlier on, but I kinda dun goofed in the style in which I wrote it. I'm working on breaking the habit of the earlier chapters (the action only, no transitions or thoughts), but it's taking some time to break the habit. Gradually, it's going to get smoother, but right now all I can do is ask for you to suffer through it (I know it's not the most pleasing to read).

* * *

I stride across campus angrily, Raynare and Asia following behind me.

"Ise, I get that you're pissed," Raynare says, hurrying to catch up to me, "but you can't let them get into your head."

"Relax, Ray. The fight isn't until the end of the day; I've got plenty of time to cool down. Besides, if anybody is getting in anybody's head, I'm getting in theirs."

"I'm confused, Ise-san…" Asia says from behind us, "What do you mean?"

"Sorry, Asia, no time. You'll see after school, but we shouldn't be any later than we already are."

The three of us walk the rest of the way in relative silence, though the teacher is rather displeased when we all get to class late at once.

"Hyoudou, I trust that your reason for being late to my class is nothing but the epitome of virtue."

"My apologies, Sensei;" I say, bowing in apology, "but the three of us were summoned for an emergency club meeting. Otherwise, we have no excuse."

"Well," He says, "I suppose that I can't fault you if it was official business, though I'd recommend that you not allow this to become a regular occurrence."

"Of course, Sensei." The three of us bow, Asia being a little slow to catch on, and move to take our seats. Through the entire ordeal, I can feel Murayama's eyes on me; I suppose I'll have to talk to her about keeping a low profile at some point.

As per usual, the first part of the day drags on; though I expect the lunch break to be rather interesting, seeing as Murayama still needs to be acclimated.

The teacher's lecturing the class on cellular division, but I can't really pay attention so I look out the window. As I'm staring into the courtyard, I see Kiba coming through the main gate of the school. It's rather odd, though; why would he have been outside at a time like this?

"-Dou!" The teacher shouts, standing right next to my desk. "Did your little nap help you understand the course material?"

"Nap? Oh no, sensei." I say, "I was just thinking about the course taught, it is very interesting, you see."

"Oh? Do elaborate."

"Well, the entire process of cellular division could be considered one of the most important biological functions ever to occur, but that itself is rather obvious. I was thinking more along the lines of artificially inducing cellular replication, though forcing a mutation during the process in order to create a new type of cell. Of course, this is just a simple thought; after all, it'd be rather hard to find a way to mutate a cell during fission without causing terrible damage, seeing as how it would cause one of the new cells to be incomplete, which has the potential to even be fatal to the cell."

"Very interesting thought, Hyoudou. Though I recommend that you save such thought for _after_ the lesson."

"Yes, sensei."

"Continuing on," He says, walking towards the front of the room.

"Nice save." Ray whispers to me from behind.

"Thanks, I was just pulling stuff out of my ass at the end."

She snickers, and I turn back to looking out the window. Though this time, I look back at the teacher every few seconds, to divert suspicion.

* * *

The lunch bell rings, granting me, as well as the rest of the class, a brief respite from the day's lessons. I walk over to Murayama's desk.

"Murayama-san, do you think we could talk for a bit?"

The students around her desk look surprised and begin to giggle amongst themselves.

"Sure. What did you want to talk about, Issei-kun?"

At her saying this, the others begin to speculate wildly.

"Did she just call him by his first name?"

"I know! Do you think they're going out?"

"No! She hasn't said anything yet, he might still be open!"

"Actually," I say, "I was hoping that we might be able to do it in private."

"Oh, sure." She gets up and follows me out the door. As we leave, I can hear the class going absolutely crazy.

"Amano-san, hurry up, she might take him away from you!"

"That lucky bastard! It isn't enough that he's got Asia, now he's going after Murayama too!"

Before I can hear any more, the two of us exit the room.

"So, what did you want to talk about?"

"A couple of things, actually." I say, beginning to pace.

"First, and most important, is that until I say otherwise, you need to be on your guard at all times. Those two from this morning are from the church, and they're hunting down some stolen property."

"And how do I play into all of this?"

"As of last night, you're involved with me, and under my protection. The church and devils don't get along, and some of the more zealous followers will kill somebody for even being associated with a devil. Until they leave, I'll have one of my subordinates with you at all times."

I reach into my back pocket and pull out a slip of paper that I carry with me at all times.

"This," I say as I give her the paper, "is a magic circle. Should anything happen, take out this piece of paper and ask for help. I, as well as my subordinates, will receive the signal and come to your aid immediately."

"Do you think that something bad could happen?"

"Murayama-san, I believe in preparing for the worst, so that way you're not caught off guard if it happens. The odds of your getting involved are slim, but they do exist. And as long as there is even a minute chance of you being harmed, it is my duty to prepare adequately."

"I… I guess I understand that."

"Good. Now, on to the second thing: You need to calm down. Remember: Rias and I aren't the only two supernaturals here. You've been sneaking glances at me all day, and that's bound to draw attention."

"I'm sorry I'm being a bother." She says slightly annoyed.

"It doesn't bother me at all," I reply, "but it increases the chance of us being found out. Trust me; I don't mind you knowing at all, I just don't want you to get hurt. Understand?"

She nods.

"Good, then let's go back to class, I'm absolutely famished."

The two of us return to class, and Murayama is immediately swarmed by the gossipmongers who press her for every detail.

While they carry on, I return to my seat and pull my lunch out of my bag.

"You really should be more careful with her." Raynare says as she comes up to me.

"Oh, come on, Ray. I like her, she's got a kind of spark that's kind of hard to find these days."

"That's not what I meant."

"What? You're going out with Hyoudou-kun?!" One of the gossipers shouts, sparking a wildfire of muttering throughout the classroom.

" _That's_ what I meant." Ray says tiredly.

"Fuko-chan, I was kidding." Murayama says quickly.

Still worried about the rumors, Asia walks over to Raynare and I, looking rather worried.

"Ise-san? Is that true?"

"N-no!" I shout quickly, "She said so herself, she's just making a joke."

"Oh?" Kiryuu, the girl with the twin braids and glasses, asks, drawn over by our conversation, "Then what were you two talking about before? We're dying to know."

"Oh, that?" I reply loudly so as the entire class can hear, "I found her wallet yesterday on my way home. I couldn't return it before school, so I decided to give it to her during lunch."

From the look on her face, the girl still has her doubts about my story. But she decides to play along for now. Thankfully, the rest of the class doesn't share her skepticism and believes the lie without any suspicion.

"Hyoudou," She says, leaning in close, "I don't know what kind of shit you're pulling, but I'll play along for now. But I want information."

"What?" I say irritated, "You have a problem?"

"I'm on to you, Hyoudou." She mutters, walking towards the horde of gossipers.

"Well, that was interesting." I say sarcastically.

"That's one way to put it." Ray chuckles to herself. "Watch it, Ise. 'She's on to you.'" She says, waving her hands and mocking the girl.

"Raynare-san, I think that's mean." Asia says, defending her classmate.

"I guess she has a point there," I say. "Kiryuu-san provided us with some valuable feedback. Apparently our ruse isn't good enough for more scrutinizing individuals."

"So, what do you think we should do?"

"Obviously, we need to work on our acting. Short of neutralizing her, there's nothing else we can do about it."

"Well then, I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get there. Oh, we're almost out of time, Asia-chan, we should get back to our seats."

Raynare sits back down behind me, while Asia crosses the classroom and takes her seat.

The Modern Literature teacher comes in, calls the class to order, and immediately begins to lecture. Nothing important happens during class, but that's just standard for a human school. However, staring out the window, I see Kiba leaving the campus yet again. I can't see his face, but his shoulders are hunched forwards, and his hands are clenched into fists at his sides. Obviously, he's angry about something.

About half an hour before school ends, Kiba walks back through the courtyard towards the old school buildings. His uniform shirt, normally a pristine white and immaculately tucked in, is now slightly roughed up, and there are small stains on the bottom hem of his shirt. Some are the dark maroon color denoting blood, while others appear to just be dirt and grime. What the hell could he have been doing?

The bell rings, and Asia, Raynare, and I immediately leave for the clubroom. When we arrive, Kiba is standing in the back corner, while the two exorcists are sitting on the couch.

"Well then, I suppose none of you want to back down?" I say, moving over beside Rias' desk.

All three of them shake their heads.

"Didn't think so. We'll wait for the others to arrive and the school to clear out a bit, and then we'll get going. I just want to make this clear: No matter the outcome of this battle, I won't hold it against you as long as you abide by the rules."

"And us as well." Xenovia says. "While you may be devils, we will attempt to treat you as though you we're equals."

Raynare growls angrily and steps forwards.

In an attempt to avoid unnecessary violence, I cut in front of her and sit down on the couch opposite the exorcists.

"As charming as ever, Ms. Quarta. However, may I request that you abstain from such harsh language? You'll find that we will be nothing but hospitable to you, and I request that you return the favor."

"Hospitable? We're about to engage in a brawl!"

"Ms. Quarta, you have been offered multiple chances to drop out. You've denied every chance. This 'brawl' as you put it, was not spontaneous, nor was it entirely our fault. It was a mutually agreed method to resolve some conflict. The difference between our _sparring match_ and a 'brawl' is that the entire circumstance is under strict regulation. This is not an act of senseless violence, it's just a way to settle a dispute and display physical ability at the same time."

That seems to have shut her up.

I sit down on the couch, and the others enter the room about a minute later.

Rias takes her seat at the desk, with Akeno standing behind her. Koneko immediately walks over to me and sits on my lap, pulling a small bag of candy out of her bag and offering me a piece. I gratefully accept it, opening the wrapping and popping it into my mouth, nearly gagging as soon as it enters my mouth. I've never really had too much of a problem with sweets, but these are pushing it. Instead of tasting a standard candy flavor, there's an explosion of what tastes like pure sugar in my mouth. It appears I've found my upper limit.

I choke down the candy, though I'm forced to turn Koneko down when she offers me another piece.

"Well then," I say, "now that everybody's arrived, we just need to wait for the school to clear out a bit. It shouldn't take more than half an hour, from what I understand the clubs were requested not to meet today."

The two exorcists nod, and we begin to wait. Akeno brings out a tray of tea, offering a cup to everybody in the room. Other than that, everybody in the room is quiet. Rias sits at her desk and files paperwork, the exorcists sit quietly, Kiba sulks in the corner, and other girls all stand by the window, watching for when the courtyard is clear.

About fifteen minutes later, Mittelt calls out to us.

"It looks like everybody's left, we're good to go."

* * *

Kiba, the exorcists, and I all stand on opposite sides of the small field in front of the old school building. Rias and the others all stand off to the side of the field, out of the way so as to avoid getting hurt.

"Exorcists," I call out, "this is your last chance. Are you going to resign?"

"We will if you do." Xenovia snaps back.

"I'll take that as a no. Rias, Can I count on you to call the match?"

"Yes." She responds, "To reiterate the rules of the match: The match will to be to first blood only, any deliberate attacks after first blood will be treated as an act of aggression. In order to avoid severe injury, there will be no use of holy weaponry. Should the match be called, the agreements made prior to the match must be upheld. Any questions, comments, or concerns?"

All four of us shake our heads.

"Then let the match commence!" She shouts, stepping back and giving us space.

"Kiba!" I shout, jumping back, "Keep them off me and buy me some time!"

He nods, summons a sword, and leaps forwards and slashes at Xenovia.

I begin chanting the words for a spell, causing a large magic circle to appear around me and glow blue. As I chant, runes write themselves around and inside the circle. With the completion of each rune, the circle pulses bright blue and then glows slightly brighter than it was before. I'm unable to watch Kiba fight, seeing as the spell requires all of my concentration, but I can hear him attacking the exorcists and forcing them back.

When I finish casting my first spell, magic energy swirls around my hand and cause my entire body to be enshrouded in blue light. The sheer power of the magic pulsing through my body causes my eyes to glow brilliant cobalt, the excess power flowing out appearing similar to flames, though they don't actually generate heat.

"Kiba! Get in the circle, quick!" I shout, causing him to kick Xenovia in the stomach and jump back behind me.

"Good." I say, looking at him briefly. "This is where the fun begins."

I concentrate all of the magical power surging through me into my right hand, the pure power it exudes causes my hand to tingle and feel rather hot.

"Mind Scourge!" I shout as I slam my hand into the ground. The "flame" that was gathered around my hand explodes out in a ring around me, held at bay by the magic circle. The exorcists, though, aren't as fortunate. The magic of the spell completely engulfs them, covering them in blue flam and glowing bright blue as the magic seeps into their minds. Once the spell has taken effect, the magical energy disperses, but both of the exorcists seem to be suffering from the spell. Their skin is slightly tinted blue, not enough to be obvious, but it is noticeable. The giveaway is their eyes, though. Instead of their normal color, both girls' eyes, from the pupils all the way to the sclera **(AN: The white part [most people don't know what it's called])** are solid blue.

Irina is the first one to break.

She lets out a bloodcurdling screech, pulling a string off her arm and swinging it around.

"Xenovia! Xenovia, are you here?!"

The string she's swinging around shimmers and morphs into a katana.

"Irina! W-What's going on?! What-What's that?!" She cries before she breaks as well.

Xenovia draws her sword and begins to hack madly at the illusions assaulting her mind. Though to the bystanders, it merely looks like the two of them are swinging blindly at the air.

The two of them scream in terror as they hack and slash at air, the spell I cast forcing them to believe that they're under attack by creatures not even present in their worst nightmares.

Irina begins to tire out, and resorts to backpedaling while still slashing her sword wildly in front of her. Meanwhile, Xenovia is taking a more direct approach; swinging her sword with every ounce of her strength, a look of sheer horror and desperation on her face.

"Issei, what did you do?" Kiba calls out from behind me.

Irina freezes, her head snapping up as she homes in on the source of the sound, Kiba.

"Not another one!" She screams before winding up and throwing her sword straight at him.

Not wanting him to be hurt, I dive in front of him and block the sword, using my right hand to absorb the impact of the blow. The sword pierces through my hand, but it doesn't feel quite right. Instead of the pain I should be feeling now, I can't feel anything at all. In fact, it feels as if my very life force is being sucked out through the sword. I crumple to the ground, unconscious, finally realizing that I've been stabbed by a holy sword.

* * *

Surprisingly, I'm not dead.

Also surprisingly, I'm lying in one of the spare beds in the club room.

Unsurprisingly, Koneko, Asia, Raynare, and Rias are all in the bed with me.

Unsurprisingly, they're all naked.

I try to move, but I find that doing so sends massive bolt of pain through my entire body. I look to find my hand, but it's not there. Instead, my entire right arm now ends immediately below the elbow. Apparently, they cut it off to save my life (albeit barely).

I let out a loud groan, waking all of the girls in the bed.

"Issei!" They shout in unison.

"Me." I reply. "What the hell happened?"

"The sword that stabbed you was an Excalibur fragment." Rias says, sounding absolutely terrified. "It's absolutely amazing that you're still alive, a clean stab like that should have killed you instantly."

 **"You can thank me for that."** Ddraig says, talking from my other arm. **"I held off the energy as long as I could, but it was thanks to the knight's fast action that you only lost your hand."**

"Shit, really?" I ask.

"He's right." Rias replies, "The moment you collapsed, Kiba stepped in and cut your arm off. If he didn't, you unquestionably would've died."

"Good to know. So, where is he?"

"He and the exorcists are out looking for the other fragments."

"You're still working with them?!" I shout, causing myself an immense amount of pain.

"We didn't have a choice." Raynare says. "You've been out for almost a week, and we don't have enough firepower to take on Kokabiel and his goons on our own. Our only hope was to partner up and buy time until either you woke up or Mittelt and Kalawarner managed to get help."

"Help? Where did they go?" I ask.

"I sent them to ask for aid from Azazel-sama and the other fallen."

"They're not going to help." I say.

"And how do you know that?" Rias asks angrily.

"Because I was the one Azazel-sama expected to stop them."

"But now everyone thinks you're dying. If the one sent to take care of it, it's only given that Azazel-sama would take care of the situation."

"Maybe, but I wouldn't bet on it." I say.

"Senpai," Koneko says, sitting up, "we'll be fine."

"Yeah, we will. But I think I'm going to have to sit this one out. There's not much I can do when I'm like this."

"What's wrong?" They all ask.

"Well aside from the obvious," I say, nodding my head towards my stump arm, "I might still be under the influence of light poisoning. Getting ran through by an Excalibur probably left a lasting impact on me. I'll likely be a lot weaker for a long time, and I'm likely going to run into some health troubles for a really long time."

"Is there anything that you can do?" Raynare asks.

"Ray, I was supposed to die. The fact that I'm walking off just sans arm and with a little light poisoning is already too much to ask for. Unless I do something really stupid, this won't kill me. It's just going to be an inconvenience for a really long time."

"I… I guess you're right."

"Now, if you don't mind, I need to rest. I'm going back to sleep."

* * *

 **AN** : Hello! How are you doing today? Well, I'm doing pretty good. It's summer vacation, so that means that I get 72 days all to myself, where I'm supported purely on the little money I have in savings and 6 metric tons of ramen and granola bars.

In all seriousness though, things here are going to be a little rough for a while. I live in a town about 20 minutes away from Orlando, and (I'm not sure if you've heard) things here aren't exactly pleasant as of late. Some of my friends were in the pulse nightclub, and thankfully none of them were killed in the attack, but I'm going to take a little time to be with them before I start working on chapter 19.

Moving on, it's time to talk about chapter 18! I spent a lot of time thinking out how I wanted Issei's illusionary magic to manifest. In fantasy books, video games, and movies, illusion magic works in a lot of different ways. Issei's illusion magic (as far I've planned it) is very similar to the blue mana used in Magic: The Gathering (Just gave away a little bit of my nerd) combined with the way the illusion school works in the Elder Scrolls series. I'm going to explain what Issei did to Xenovia and Irina next chapter, so rest assured there.

Also, I've worked it out, and now the only spaces that need to be filled in terms of the peerages are Issei's second rook and Rias' entire team except for Roseweiss and Xenovia. If you have any suggestions character-wise that I could do, I'd love to hear them. It's still my intention to give you all a voice in how this story builds up, and I think this is a really good chance to do it.

As always, if you have anything you want to say, feel free to let me know in a review or a PM. Any feedback is appreciated, so don't be shy!


	20. Chapter 19

AN: I'm back! (and here to stay, hopefully)

I've got a longer note down at the end of the chapter, so feel read there if you want some more information about what's been going on (and what's to come). Normally, this would be the part where I'd answer reviews, but it's been so long I can't tell which ones I've already answered, so we'll save that for later.

* * *

True to form, the light running through my system is keeping me on edge. It's not so bad to the point where it's painful, it's more like a dull buzzing I can always feel but can't do anything about. The best way to describe it is like a mosquito I can't catch, it's always buzzing around, biting me and slowly picking away at me; I can't stop it, but it's not exactly unbearable; just irritating.

After laying in bed for about an hour, I sit up and head into the bathroom.

 **"Something on your mind?"** Ddraig asks.

 _" I was just thinking."_ I reply mentally, not wanting to wake up the girls sleeping in my bed.

 **"What about?"**

 _"We're going to die, aren't we?"_

 **"Everyone dies, partner."**

 _"But we're going to die soon."_

 **"What makes you think that?"**

 _"Ddraig, be real. I'm missing an arm that you can't grow back for who knows why, and I'm not even at full combat output anymore because of the poison, I can feel it sapping my magic away."_

 **"And you think because of that you're going to die?"**

 _"As much as I like to believe in Rias and the others, they don't stand a chance against Kokabiel. He can wipe the floor with them without even raising a finger! And yet here I am, completely unable to do_ anything _to help them!"_

 **"Kid, I want you to pay attention, because I'm only going to say this once: You are quite possibly one of the most capable hosts that I've ever had. I have been present for the rise and fall of empires, I've aided my past hosts in razing entire civilizations to the ground, I've granted my power to men who stood unparalleled on the field of battle. And yet do you know why I see you as superior?"**

 _"Because you think lying is going to make me feel better?"_

 **"No, you fool! It is because no matter how mighty my past hosts may have been, they were all unable to adapt the way you can. They had no sense of rationality or cunning about them. They may have had superior strength, but that's all they had. You may not be the strongest in terms of physical power, but I have no doubt that you are able to best any mortal who has ever hosted me through your wit and sheer tenacity."**

 _"What are you talking about?"_

 **"I have been with you for twenty years; and all that time I noticed that you always think first. You wait to move; you analyze your situation and surroundings before you act. You always organize the setting to be optimal for you. Most of my previous hosts were nothing but brash warriors who left the thinking to others. Now, do you honestly believe that something as minor as this will be your downfall?"**

 _"Minor? I'm a devil, you idiot! Light might not be much of anything to dragons; but to me, it's fatal!"_

 **"But you are also a dragon. Remember, partner, that the two of us are one entity. Although we have different minds, out bodies are as one. You may not have the full protection of dragon skin, but you are also not so weak as a mere devil."**

 _"But, for some reason, this light – which shouldn't be a big deal, if you're right – is keeping me from regenerating; not to mention that it's slowly killing me!"_

 **"The reason you can't regenerate is because I'm holding the poison's advance at bay. If you can halt its progression, I would be able to slowly expel it from your system and then regrow your arm."**

 _"Either way, it still won't regrow, right?"_

 **"Not for a short while. But if you find a way to stop the poison, you will not have to worry about losing any more of your power. It may be a slow process, but you will eventually be able to be whole again."**

 _"And how long do you think this'll take?"_

 **"Once you find something to permanently halt the spreading, your arm should be fully regrown in about a year's time."**

 _"A year?!"_

 **"Be thankful. Even as slowed down as it is, the poison still advanced incredibly quickly. I'm not well equipped to detoxify, so I will not be able to perform this task as well as I would others."**

 _"And how do you suggest we go about stopping the spread, and what I'll do when I'm down an arm?"_

 **"Use your head. With training, your bishop might be able to cure you, or you could find a superior healing source."**

 _"But Asia only knows the basics, there's no way that'd she'd be able to get rid of light poisoning without training."_

 **"I suppose you're right. However, I think you should head back to hell for the time being. The Greek should be able to work something out with your arm."**

 _"But you know how she gets."_

 **"Kid, you can't afford to be picky in times like this. Either go ask her for help or learn to live without an arm."**

I sigh, conceding the argument to him. He _is_ right, though: I could probably go see Andromeda about my arm. The one thing I'm worried about is that she and I have sort of a history.

* * *

The two of us met a little over two years ago, right after I left working for the Gremories. I was considering some leads that lead me to Greece, and decided to spend the night in Athens. The problem with Greece, by the way, is the gods. Well, one god: Hades. See, Hades isn't a big fan of other mythological groups, so he tends to take drastic measures against pretty much everybody. In Greece, especially, I had to be on my toes all the time, there was no telling when one of his goons would try to take me out. As I was looking around for a cheap place to stay, I noticed some smoke rising near to where I was. Being the kind of guy I am, I went over to investigate the source.

One of the smaller buildings was on fire, but the fire itself seemed a little odd. Instead of the standard flame colors and patterns, this fire was an ashen gray, and seemed to spread rather slowly for an unplanned burn. Instead of rapidly consuming the building, it would branch out very slowly – only about a half a foot a second – and then retract back immediately. Obviously, it was something supernatural. The question was: What?

Looking around for anybody in the streets, I heard some screaming from inside the building. The fire had reached a fourth floor window and was beginning to burn even brighter. Shadows gathered at the base of the building and began to climb up the walls.

 _"Ddraig, those are shades!"_ I exclaimed, _"What the hell are Hades' forces doing burning down a building?"_

 **"I don't know, but it can't be good. I suggest you find out what's going on."** He replied.

I crouched down low and leaped to the sill of a third floor window, intercepting the shades' ascent.

As I landed, I scattered a fire across the wall, preventing the ghouls from moving any further. While they hissed angrily, I leaped up into the burning part of the building.

"Hello?" I called out, "Is anybody in here?"

Looking around, I saw the gray fire spreading towards one of the rooms in the back of the apartment. Coming from the same direction was the sounds of frantic screaming and panicking.

"HELP!" One of the voices called out, distinctly female, and sounding rather young.

"I'm on my way!" I call, "Just stand away from the door and cover your mouths!"

I walk towards the closed door, the fire feeling slightly warm as I walk through it; another sign that it's supernatural, I wouldn't have felt a thing if the flame was natural.

Standing in front of the door, I leaned back and delivered a powerful kick right above the handle, causing the door to fly open and slam into the wall.

There were four people in the room, which was apparently some sort of large closet, the older two of the group were obviously dead; a man with severe burns all over his body, and a woman who appeared to have succumbed to the smoke. The other two, both girls, were in rough shape. The older of the two is holding the other close to her.

"Please, help us!" She shouts.

I nod, picking the two of them up over my shoulder and walking over to the wall.

"Wait! The older one shouted, "My parents, you have to save my parents!"

I kicked down the wall, exposing the alleyway behind the building.

"Kid, there's nothing left to save. I'm sorry, but we have to get you two out of here!"

Before she could say anything, I jumped out the window, expanding my wings and flying into the foothills surrounding the city.

As I few away, the older of the two pounded on my back.

"Turn around right now!" She screamed, "We have to go back and save them!"

The other one was laying limp over my shoulder, which was rather concerning. I stopped flying and hovered in the air.

"Kid," I shouted, "you've got a choice: Go back for your dead parents and we all die, or just let it be and we just _might_ be able to save your sister!"

"What do you mean?! What's wrong with Helena?!" She stopped hitting me, thankfully, I was about to drop her.

"Look at her, kid. She breathed too much of that shit in, it's doing a real number on her lungs right now. If you want her to live, we've got to get to a hospital, and fast!"

"Fine, just save her! Please!"

"Now that's more like it." I grumbled to myself, resuming flight towards the outskirts of the city.

"Where are you going? There's a hospital right beneath us!"

"Judging by your not freaking out about my flying, you're not new to magic, right?"

"That doesn't answer my question!"

"I'll take that as a yes. That fire wasn't natural; anything wrong with her can't be treated at a human hospital. Our only option is to go to hell."

"Hell?!"

"Hell. Where I'm from. Trust me: if anyone can help your sister, my people can."

We landed in a cave, and I set the two girls down on the ground. Helena, the younger one, didn't move in the slightest, which was rather unsettling.

"Kid, stand next to your sister, and watch the entrance, I don't want any of Hades' goons barging in here while I work on the teleport."

"Hades?! What do you mean?!"

"Not important, just watch the entrance!"

I began to draw the teleportation circle, and right as I finished, the shouted, "Something's here!"

"You're too late!" I shouted at the ghouls in the mouth of the cave, "Tell your boss that Issei Hyoudou says 'hi'."

There was a flash of light and we teleported to hell.

* * *

Andromeda Myron has been working for me ever since. Helena, her sister, is still a hospital in my territory, and the doctors believe that she's under some sort of curse. Since we met, we've been on rather uncertain terms, partially because of her sister, and because I think she blames me for the death of her parents (I don't get it, I showed up _after_ they died); but regardless, Ddraig was right when he said she could help me out.

Shaking my head clear, I walk back into my bedroom, well, it's more of a stumble. Rias is still lying in the bed, but she's wide awake and staring at the door.

"Issei, are you okay?" She whispers, "You were in there for a while."

"I've been thinking." I reply, carefully climbing back into the bed, it'd be bad if I woke any of the others up.

"About what?"

"Kokabiel."

"Issei, you need to calm down. Azazel-sama will come, and even if he doesn't, Onii-sama will."

"Rias, that's wishful thinking. If they don't come, then we're all on our own, and I'm pretty much useless without my arm."

"Then we'll take him on alone."

"You all don't stand a chance."

"Excuse me?"

"Rias, you know as much as I do that a bunch of teenagers won't be able to take down a ten-wing, no matter how hard you all believe in yourself, no matter how hard you try, he just overpowers you."

"Then what do you suggest we do about it? If nobody shows up? Do we just lie down and accept it? Just die?!"

"No. You stall to the best of your ability."

"Stall? What do you mean?"

"I've got a plan, but it requires me being gone for a little while; not long, only about two days. All you need to do is keep him at bay until I get back."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to go home."

"Home?"

"I'm going to see Andromeda about the situation with my arm, and try to raise as much of an army as I can."

"I understand, I guess. You know that my Onii-sama will come to help if you ask, right?"

"Of course, he's going to be one of my first stops."

I get back off the bed, still moving carefully so as not to wake the others. I walk over to my closet and throw on a jacket, the sleeve covering my missing arm.

"Now, time is of the essence, so I need to leave." I say, preparing a teleportation circle. "Stay safe. I want you to keep something in mind, when I said stall, I don't mean pick a fight. If Kokabiel even looks at you, you're as good as dead. Our intel says that he's got priests and exorcists all over the place, do whatever you need to do to take them down, try and peck at his forces so he can't launch a full assault. Whatever you do, don't get yourself killed."

"Issei, before you go, I… I-" Before I can hear what she says, I teleport away.

* * *

One flash of light later, I'm standing in front of a rather large complex of buildings; the center of the Andromalius family's business operations. I walk through the door, looking at the receptionist.

"My lord!" he exclaims, jumping up and bowing, "What may I do for you today?"

"I'll be in my office; would you please tell Andromeda Myron to meet me there as fast as she can?"

"Of course, my lord! It would be my pleasure."

"Thank you."

I walk towards the elevators, as I do; I stumble slightly, causing my jacket to slide off my shoulder, revealing my stub of an arm.

"Lord Hyoudou!" The receptionist shouts, "You're hurt!"

"Not a word about this to anyone," I say, pulling my jacket back over my shoulder, "Understood?"

He pales and nods.

"Good. Make sure Andromeda shows up soon."

I step into the elevator and rocket up to the top floor office. Of course, in the underworld, elevators are completely and totally unnecessary seeing as how everyone can teleport, but I just like the feel of an elevator in a business setting. It just feels right. The elevator gives a resounding ding as it arrives on the top floor of the building, my office.

As the door opens, a woman is standing next to my desk, her arms crossed. Her dark black hair is gathered in a loose bundle that hands down her back. She's about five foot seven, and a far cry from the seventeen year-old I saved back in Greece two years ago.

"Andromeda," I say, stepping out of the elevator, "it's great to see you again."

"Cut the crap, Issei. Sean told me about your arm. What did you do?"

 **"He got ran through with an Excalibur fragment."** Ddraig says aloud.

"YOU DID WHAT?!" She shouts, running over to me and ripping off my jacket.

She looks at my bandaged stump, sighing to herself.

"Do I even want to know how you pulled this off?" She asks.

"I picked a fight with some exorcists; actually, I think you know them. The pair from Amsterdam."

"Those two? Small world, huh."

"That's what I'm saying! It was so weird to run into them again! Oh, you wanna hear something funny?"

"What?"

"They actually thought that I was an angel! Can you believe it? An angel!"

"Well, that certainly is funny. So, grit your teeth, this is going to hurt."

"I know rig- Wait what?!" I ask as she rips the bandage off of my arm.

"SON OF A BITCH!" I shout, "WHY THE FUCK DIDN'T YOU TELL ME YOU WERE GOING TO DO THAT SOONER?!"

Let me just say, ripping a bandage off is not fun on its own. It's even less fun when that bandage has been bound to your skin by your dried blood.

"Well," She says, grinning sarcastically, "I just couldn't bring myself to interrupt your _fascinating_ story."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. But seriously, why did you do that?"

"I assume you want me to make you a prosthetic, I need to look at the wound so I can know what I'm working with."

"And you couldn't just say, 'Hey, Issei, I need to look at your arm, would you mind my taking off your bandage in a way that _won't rip out chunks of your skin'_?"

"Oh, don't be such a wimp. You can take more than that and you know it." She says, walking around and measuring my arm.

"How long do you think it'll take?"

"I should have it done by tonight. Why, you got a date or something?"

"A war meeting, actually."

"War? Lift your other arm."

I do as she says.

"So, I'm curious, what exactly did you do to get yourself stabbed?"

"I mind scourged the exorcists, and they started freaking out; one of them took this weird little shoelace thing off her arm, and them blamo: it's a sword, she threw it at a friend of mine, so I jumped in the way. I didn't really think it was any special Excalibur fragment, otherwise I would've let the bastard take the hit."

"Hold up," she says, "two questions: You saw a 'shoelace' turn into a sword, and you just thought it'd be a good idea to _jump in front of it_?! Just, 'Oh, it can shapeshift, but it can't be any special kind of sword, I guess I'll just get stabbed in the arm! It's a great day to show off anyway', really?! I swear, you can be such a moron sometimes."

"In my defense, it was kind of an instinct thing, more spur of the moment action than planned strategy."

"Fair enough. Second: _Mind Scourge?_ What does that even mean?! And what the here made you thing that it was a good name?"

"Oh, come on! It's Mind Scourge! That spell I finished researching a few months ago!"

"The one where you make them hallucinate based on images pulled from their subconcious?"

"Yeah!"

"Cool. Mind scourge is a sucky name."

"So is Andromeda, but you don't hear me complaining." I quip back, feeling quite clever with myself. This feeling, however, is quite short lived, as she apparently thinks that a fitting retaliation would be stabbing her finger into my arm-stub. It hurts, a lot.

"Sorry, sorry. Consider the topic dropped."

"Good, there's more where that came from. So, what did you mean when you said you had a war meeting?"

"Have you ever heard of Kokabiel?" she nods, "Well, he's gone rogue. I'm meeting with Sirzechs-sama soon to see about getting a strike force together."

"What about your arm?"

"If you can get the prosthetic done in time, all I must worry about is a little poisoning, but I don't know any way to get rid of it right now."

She backs away from me.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't the Phenexes owe you a favor?"

"No, just a peerage member. And I don't think a tear would do what I need anyway."

"Well, there's no harm in trying it out."

"I guess, it can't really get much worse than this; then would you do me a favor and call ahead and notify the Phenex household I would like to have meeting with them?"

"I'll get right on that."

"Thanks, I'll be going. Oh, before I leave: how's your sister doing?"

The smile she's held for the past few minutes disappears from her face.

"She… She's still down. She hasn't gotten any worse, but she's not getting any better. I'm worried. It's been two years and she still hasn't changed! The doctors say she's stable, and it's all up to her now, but what if she doesn't wake up?! What am I going to do without her?!" She starts to cry.

"Andromeda, look at me." I say, pulling her into a one-armed hug, "everything's going to be fine. The doctors working with her are some of the best in the underworld, she's not going anywhere on you; I promise."

I try to stroke her hair with my bad arm, but the nub doesn't allow me to. Thankfully, my awkwardness is enough to make her laugh, which is a good thing; I haven't seen her do it in a while.

"Look, I'm going to leave; but let me know the moment anything changes. Okay?"

She nods.

"I'll be back tonight, make sure that arm's ready!"

She nods, wiping away some of her tears.

"It'd be awfully bad if you come up shorthanded!" I say, stepping into the elevator.

"That was horrible. Just leave." She says in contempt.

* * *

The Phenex Mansion is just as opulent as it was a few years ago, perhaps even more so today. When I arrive at the front gate, an entourage is waiting to escort me through the grounds to the main house. They offer to take my jacket for me, and it's rather difficult to come up with a reason why they can't.

"I'm feeling a little under the weather at the moment," I say, "I'd rather keep it on for now, the warmth helps me feel better."

The staff goes along with it, but it's plain as day that they don't believe me.

As I walk through the grounds, the glares of contempt are easy to notice. I'm not complaining or anything, because I completely understand why; but it's still a little unsettling.

Raiser's younger sister, Ravel, I think it was, and the Lord of the house are waiting for me at the front of the main house.

"Lord Phenex," I say, bowing, "Thank you for agreeing to meet me on such short notice."

When I bow, I hear the girl let out a small gasp; looking down, though, I see my jacket hasn't fallen off, so I don't really know what her deal is.

"It is a pleasure, Lord Hyoudou," Lord Phenex replies, "though I was surprised to hear you had such urgent business. Please, do come inside so we may discuss this further."

I bow once again, and proceed to enter the mansion. Lord Phenex and his daughter lead me to a small room just off the entrance hall of the main house, inside the room is a small desk as well as a few chairs arranged around the room.

"Please, leave us." Lord Phenex says to the servants who followed us, "I'm sure that Lord Hyoudou would like this meeting to be conducted in private."

The two servants bow and depart, and the three of us take seats in the room.

"So, Lord Hyoudou, what may I do for you today?" The man asks.

"Straight to business, I see. I need to purchase a Phoenix tear, but in a way that nobody else can find out about."

"Well, Lord Hyoudou, that's quite the tall order. Might I ask what you need it for?"

"I'm afraid I'd rather not go into the details." I state evasively, "But I will say that if you can help me, I would be immensely grateful."

"Well, Lord Hyoudou, I believe that can be arranged; but if you don't wish to talk, I find it rather concerning. Are you sure you don't wish to talk about it? "

"I believe I might have the answer to that." Ravel, the girl, says. "I was contacted by one of Lord Hyoudou's subordinates upon his arrival."

I'm getting a sinking feeling that Andromeda might've spilled the beans.

"Apparently, Lord Hyoudou has been injured with a holy sword, and is hoping that we may be of assistance in curing the remaining light poisoning."

"Light poisoning?" Lord Phenex exclaims, "Lord Hyoudou, why did you not come sooner?! And how are you still alive?!"

"Lord Phenex, I'm afraid that I'm not at liberty to tell you that. But Young Miss Ravel is correct: I am currently suffering from light poisoning, and the Phenex house was the only option I could think of in terms of a possible solution; hence why I came to you."

"Well, Lord Hyoudou, I am not sure what help our tears will be to your current solution," Lord Phenex says, "But we will do what we can to help you."

"Thank you, Sir. When do you believe that you'll have the tear ready? I have urgent matters to discuss with Sirzechs-sama and must be going soon."

"I understand. Luckily, there is a small stockpile of tears we have in the mansion for situations such as these, I do not have any qualms about using one of them to help you."

"Thank you, Lord Phenex. The Andromalius clan is in your debt."

"Think nothing of it; consider this repaying you for teaching my son a much-needed lesson. Now, is that all you needed?"

"Yes, sir. I'll be on my way now."

"Actually, Lord Hyoudou," Ravel says as I stand up, "I was wondering if I may have a word with you before you depart."

"I don't see why you couldn't," I say. It's actually rather bizarre, I would've thought that she wouldn't want to have anything to do with me, seeing as how she's a member of her brother's peerage.

"Thank you." She says, bowing. "Father, may Lord Hyoudou and I please have this conversation alone?"

"I suppose that would only be fitting, seeing as what you two are likely to discuss."

Apparently, I'm the only one who doesn't know what's going on, which is more than a little irritating. Lord Phenex leaves the room, so now it's just Ravel and I.

"I get the feeling that your father knows more about what you're going to say than I do." I say, sitting back down and removing my jacket.

Seconds go by and the girl says nothing, I assume she's staring at the stub where my arm once was.

"Is there a problem, Miss Phenex?" I ask, locking eyes with her and reaching for my jacket, "because I'm very busy, and if you're just going to dawdle and waste my time, then I'd much rather be going".

"Wait, I'm sorry!" She said, rushing over to keep me from donning my jacket, "Your injury simply came as a shock, I didn't mean anything by it!"

This kind of irritates me, she didn't do anything wrong, of course, but I'm getting unreasonably touchy for some reason, it happened earlier today, too. I'm not sure what's behind these weird mood swings, but if I'm to try and conduct business, I need to get them under control.

 ** _"What's the matter, partner? Is it your time of the month?"_** Ddraig teases me.

 _"Cute."_ I snap back _"Can I get a basic analysis on hormonal biochemistry? Or are you too busy cracking bad jokes?"_

 ** _"If you want to know what's wrong with your attitude, it's the light poisoning. You're on edge, tense: add that to your already dazzling personality and it's not too hard to see why you're a tad… sensitive."_**

 _"Sensitive?! What makes you say I'm sensitive?!"_

 ** _"My point exactly. Now, I suggest you snap back to reality, because the girl seems to be rather confused."_**

He's right, she's just staring at me. I don't know exactly how long the conversation took, time seems to flow a little differently when you're arguing with the voices in your head, but I don't think it could've been more than a few seconds.

"Lord Hyoudou," Ravel begins questioningly, "are you alright?"

"I'm fine, it's just the light. Everything's getting thrown out of balance, I just need a minute to get used to it."

"About that, you're the first devil to ever survive an encounter with an Excalibur fragment, the light poisoning you've got is likely much more potent than an average injury, I do not believe that a Phoenix tear will be able to help you."

"I understand that, but I don't have any other options at this point, and I don't really think that things can get much worse for me."

"I don't understand what you mean."

"I'm down an arm, I've lost most of my magic, the dragon is too busy trying to keep me alive to do anything else, and I've got light spreading through my system – apparently at a higher potency than normal, if you're to be believed. There is literally nowhere to go but up."

"I suppose you have a point."

"Then you're agreeing to help supply me with tears?"

"I cannot give you an unlimited number of tears for free, I'm afraid that you will have to buy tears beyond the first, so as to allow the family name to not be tarnished."

"I understand that completely, I'm just thankful that you're willing to help me in the first place. Now, on the topic of helping, you said there was something you wanted to talk about?"

"Oh, well, yes…" She begins to blush furiously, "It's about the wager you made with Onii-sama, where he transfers a member of his peerage to you."

"Ok, I see where this is going. Frankly, I'm not that surprised."

"I'm sorry?"

"He chose you, right? Honestly, it makes sense knowing him. Why give up one of the knockouts and concubines when the little sister is right there; it's completely in character for him. Unless it was you who asked to switch." I add the last part on as a little tease, if she's going to be forced to join up, why not have a little fun, right?

"W-w-what?!" She shouts, turning beet red, "Why would I ask to join you?! I-it's not like I _wanted_ to or anything!"

"Sure, sure;" I say, "but that's irrelevant at this point. If your brother _paid attention_ , he'd know that you don't join me until _I say_ , and I'm not ready for you yet, so you're going to have to be a free piece for a short while, until I can get this current matter sorted. I hope that's not too much of an inconvenience."

"O-Of course it isn't!" she says, turning all the redder "I didn't want to join your peerage yet, anyway!"

"Good, thank you for your… understanding." I don't think that understanding is the right word, but I'll just go with it anyway. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a very important meeting with Lord Sirzechs."

* * *

AN:

Let's start this with an apology. It's literally been almost a year since I updated this last, I don't have any excuses, only a sincere and heartfelt apology. I wish I could say that I could promise regular updates, but I can't, my schedule has gone batshit crazy for the next couple months. That said, I am going to try and make up the absence to you guys by going on a blitz, so expect a few more chapters coming soon (as long as nothing happens to me or my computer).

With that out of the way, I guess we should move on.

Chapter 19! WOOOOOOOO!

I want to give a big thanks to all you people who've stuck with me through all the past 18 chapters, and the people who've just come in recently (surprisingly enough, I still get notified when people follow and favorite, so a big shout out to the people who've been doing that). Honestly, It's the reviews that kept me going; see, about a year ago I reread the entire story up to here, and I honestly wasn't sure it was that good, so I kinda decided I'd hold off a little and see how the general response was. Unfortunately, (by nobody's fault but my own) a little turned into a while, but it was the recent surge of people asking for a continuation that made me realize that you guys enjoy reading this. I'm really thankful for all the support you've all given me while I was away, and I (once again) apologize for ditching you all for a year.

This chapter, there was the first introduction of an OC who is going to recur throughout the series, Andromeda. Andromeda is one of my own designs, and I'll touch more on her later. I'm going to try and keep OCs down as much as I can, but I did kind of run into a bit of a problem with peerage building. I've got a lot of open slots left now that Rias doesn't have Issei or Asia, and Issei having his own peerage. Thankfully, I've managed to fill every slot on team Issei, but there are still a lot of open slots on team Rias (A bishop and all eight pawns). If you have any character ideas about what I can do to fill the slot (I'd rather avoid any more OCs for now, so try to stick to canon characters), I'd be happy to hear them.

Now it's time to talk about the meeting with the Phenex family. The first thing I want to say is that Lord Phenex accepting Raiser's beat down wasn't my idea: that's canonically what happens, I know it seems a little weird that Lord Phenex would just take it like that (I think so too), but I've already deviated so much from canon that I didn't want to push it further on something small such as this. Another issue I ran into was Ravel, specifically how to make her talk. (on a little bit of a sidetrack) One of my absolute favorite authors is Ernest Hemingway, and I've attempted to model my dialogue after his style, meaning that each character has unique speech patterns and characteristics that define themselves from the other speakers; but that's hard to do with Ravel. I can't find a solid pattern to her speech that's comparable to English (it's easier in Japanese, but it doesn't translate that easily), all the translations I've found of the light novel tend to differ based on chapter (she talks differently in the rating game versus the initial meeting versus the young devil gathering), so I can't nail down how any definite pattern in her speech would be developed, all I can work off of is how her personality is and how that'd influence speech (and I guess it's as good a start as any).

As I've always said, thanks for reading this, and if you have anything you want to say feel free to let me know in a review or a PM.


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